PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets are moving in dispersed order at the start of the session on Thursday, the well-received publication of the giant LVMH offering a boost to the CAC 40 and other luxury stocks, but concerns about the economy remain .

In Paris, the CAC 40 scored a record 7,476.36 points. Around 07:30 GMT, the Parisian flagship index gained 1.03% to 7,473.27. In London, the FTSE 100 lost 0.04%, hampered by the decline in energy stocks, and in Frankfurt, the Dax took 0.26%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index is up 0.51%, the FTSEurofirst 300 0.32% and the Stoxx 600 0.43%.

Luxury stocks stood out thanks to LVMH’s sales growth, which doubled expectations, thanks to the rebound in activity in China with the lifting of restrictions linked to COVID-19. The world number one in luxury takes 4.46% to 873.9 euros, establishing a new historic peak.

In its wake, its big competitor Kering gains 2.51%, Hermès 2.77%, Moncler 2.89% and Burberry 1.96%.

Another supporting factor for the sector, data on Chinese foreign trade was better than expected in March with an unexpected rebound in exports and a less marked drop in prices than expected.

However, the Chinese markets ended in the red, penalized by the decline in technology stocks and concerns about the global economy.

Several Federal Reserve officials last month considered suspending the cycle of interest rate hikes, but the still too high level of inflation finally convinced them to opt for a quarter-point increase, shows the minutes of the meeting of March 21 and 22.

Although Fed staff tasked with assessing the potential fallout from strains in the banking sector predicted a “mild recession” from the end of this year, a majority of observers believe the central bank will have no no choice but to opt for another rate hike in three weeks.

Indeed, the rise in underlying inflation accelerated slightly in March to 5.6% over one year, against 5.5% in February.

On the side of the European Central Bank, several sources reported to Reuters that the debates, far from being closed, converged on a slowdown in the rise in rates to a quarter of a point in May.

The focus for the next few days turns to US corporate earnings for the first quarter, which begin Friday with banks JPMorgan, Citi and Wells Fargo.

Analysts currently expect S&P-500 company results down 5.2% year on year, a sharp turnaround from a 1.4% growth expected at the start of the year, according to sources. Refinitive data.

(Laetitia Volga, editing by Kate Entringer)

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