(News Bulletin 247) – The CAC 40 is moving up slightly at mid-session, while the latest economic indicators hardly encourage risk-taking. Especially since the markets are about to close their doors for four days.

The Paris Stock Exchange is currently experiencing an anemic session on Thursday. At mid-session, the CAC 40 is moving close to balance, climbing 0.2% to 7,331.84 points. Over the whole week, the Parisian index is for the moment more or less at a standstill.

The long break ahead is hardly likely to encourage market operators to take risks. As every year, the Easter weekend will result in the closure of the major financial markets – including the Paris Stock Exchange – from Friday until Tuesday, Easter Monday also being a public holiday.

This calendar particularity is superimposed on a degraded economic context which has fueled the market declines in recent sessions. The latest indicators have indeed shown a slowdown in the US economy, whether in terms of job openings or the ADP report on employment. The ISM services index was also disappointing, with a figure of 51.2, well below the 54.4 expected by economists, knowing that a level of 50 marks the border between an expansion and a contraction. of the activity.

The S&P 500 ready to dive?

“In addition to the weaker manufacturing data released earlier this week, markets seem to want to believe that the economy is slowing, which it likely is, recent rate hikes are to blame, and the Fed [Réserve fédérale, NDLR] will soon have to backtrack on its interest rate policy. The last option is probably the most debatable,” said Michael Hewson of CMC Markets.

In a note published on Thursday, the think tank Capital Economics estimates that the S&P 500 could fall sharply in the coming months. While the US index is moving to just under 4,100, company economist John Higgins expects a drop of up to 3,500 points in the third quarter before a rebound. This is because, according to him, analysts do not anticipate a recession in the United States, which he believes has become “even more likely” with the recent stock market turmoil.

Luxury in the hard

As for values, luxury groups are dragging the CAC 40 down, L’Oréal yielding 3%, Hermes 2.1%, Kering 1.7% and LVMH 1.5%. Publications in this sector for the first quarter will begin next week, with in particular the turnover of LVMH.

Accor wins 5% driven by an increase in recommendations to buy Stifel.

Excluding SBF 120, automotive supplier Akwel lost 5%, penalized by disappointing annual results.

On the other markets, the euro is stable against the dollar, at 1.0904 dollars. Oil contracts are down slightly, Brent from the North Sea for delivery in June, yields 0.11% to 84.93 dollars a barrel while WTI quoted in New York yields 0.1% to 80.52 dollars per barrel. barrel.