The Paris Stock Exchange closed up 0.98% on Thursday, driven by corporate results, but early trading enthusiasm was tempered by lackluster economic data.
The star CAC 40 index rose by 62.88 points to 6,508.14 points. The day before, it had broken a series of three declines with a rise of 0.48%.
The Parisian rating had yet opened sharply higher and exceeded the +2% mark in the middle of the day.
The enthusiasm of the start of the session in European markets has somewhat “fallen off despite rather good corporate results”, in particular after the publication of a contraction of 1.4% in the American gross domestic product in the first quarter, notes Charles de Riedmatten, equity manager of Myria AM.
The main reason for this decline is “a trade balance in deficit” while “domestic consumption remains very good and does not call into question the monetary tightening” of the American central bank, explains Charles de Riedmatten.
In Europe, price increases reached 7.4% year on year in Germany in April, a new record, according to provisional figures.
European Central Bank Vice-President Luis de Guindos said inflation in the euro zone was “very close to peaking” and should decelerate in the second half of the year.
Mr. de Riedmatten recalls that the dynamics of prices in the euro zone “always depends on the geopolitical context and in particular on the response of the European Union to the halt in deliveries of Russian gas to Poland and Bulgaria” announced on Wednesday.
“If an embargo on Russian oil and gas is decided, inflation will not slow down anytime soon,” he said.
This news reduced the gains acquired at the start of the day thanks to the releases of corporate results.
The euro weakened further against the dollar, at 1.0497 dollars (-0.57%), after a low for more than five years.
Tech at the party
In the wake of the good results of Meta (Facebook) and those recorded on the Parisian market for several days, the technology sector has jumped.
The French IT giant Capgemini (+5.15% to 196.10 euros) experienced record revenue growth of 17.7% in the first quarter of 2021 (at constant exchange rates).
Dassault Systemes (+5.72% to 41.72 euros), Worldline (+6.77% to 38.16 euros), STMicroelectronics (+1.58% to 35.59 euros) and Atos (+6.10% at 23.31 euros) also benefited.
TotalEnergies still on the rise
TotalEnergies, driven by the rebound in energy prices, posted net profit in the first quarter up 48% to $4.9 billion, despite writedowns related to Russia. The title took 3.66% to 46.78 euros.
URW still in recovery
Shopping center giant Unibail Rodamco Westfield (URW) welcomed a “strong post-Covid-19 recovery” in the first quarter: the turnover of merchants hosted by URW recovered to 93% of its level of before-Covid-19. The title lost 4.25% to 67.66 euros.
Euronext CAC40