by Laetitia Volga
PARIS (Reuters) – European stock markets ended higher on Thursday, with a record for the Parisian CAC 40, but uncertainties about the evolution of US inflation slightly dampened investors’ enthusiasm for the economic situation in the second part. of session.
In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.89% to 7,366.16 points. The British Footsie gained 0.17% and the German Dax gained 0.18%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index advanced 0.47%, the FTSEurofirst 300 0.25% and the Stoxx 600 0.25%.
At the time of the close in Europe, the main indexes on Wall Street were down around 0.55%. Investors were taken aback by the stronger-than-expected rebound in US producer prices in January, to 0.7% month-on-month – its biggest rise since June – and the unexpected drop in weekly jobless claims.
This figure, which reinforces the scenario of an even more offensive Federal Reserve in the face of inflation, has somewhat dented the optimism enjoyed by European equities thanks to good corporate results.
The CAC 40 and the Footsie registered new records in the morning, at 7,387.29 and 8,047.06 points respectively.
“With the strong data we had on Thursday, people are worried that the Fed is once again lagging inflation,” said Michael O’Rourke, chief strategy officer at JonesTrading.
Separately, Cleveland Fed Chair Loretta Mester, who is not taking part in the Committee’s vote this year, said she would have favored a half-point hike at the last meeting, which eventually closed with a quarter-point rise.
VALUES
Among the strongest increases in the CAC 40, Pernod Ricard, Airbus and Orange rose from 3.41% to 6.46% after the publication of their financial results and forecasts.
On the side of the SBF 120, Atos stood out with a gain of 14.61%, the group having announced a new phase of non-exclusive discussions with Airbus with a view to selling it a stake in Evidian.
Elsewhere in Europe, Standard Chartered gained 4.11% after raising its outlook and unveiling a billion-dollar share buyback program while Commerzbank jumped 11.6% on better-than-ever quarterly net profit. foreseen.
RATES/EXCHANGES
The dollar briefly benefited from the US producer price numbers, hitting a roughly six-week high against a benchmark basket.
The euro fell slightly, below 1.07 dollars.
The European government bond market is stable, at 2.483% for the ten-year German Bund, after a peak having crossed the 2.5% threshold for the first time since the beginning of January.
The yield on ten-year US Treasuries, at 3.8184%, gained nearly two basis points.
OIL
Oil prices are stable, the hope of a recovery in demand in China being tempered by the significant weekly increase in crude inventories in the United States.
Brent yielded 0.02% to 85.36 dollars a barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) nibbled 0.03% to 78.61 dollars.
(Laetitia Volga, edited by Matthieu Protard)
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