(News Bulletin 247) – The CAC 40 is moving down sharply in mid-session, as investors digest a rain of results. The automotive sector is suffering, undermined by the price war launched by Tesla.

The Paris Stock Exchange has struggled to take off for several sessions. This Thursday its flagship index, the CAC 40, lost 0.5% at midday to 7,514.12 points.

The main barometer of the Parisian market is notably hampered by the declines in the automobile industry, the manufacturers Renault and Stellantis losing 6.6% and 4.8% respectively. The first quoted published solid sales for the first quarter, but the market’s mind is elsewhere.

“Renault may publish good figures and make reassuring remarks, the market retains Tesla’s aggressive price cuts and relegates the group’s sales and the reassuring dynamics of the Megane E-Tech to the background”, explains Michael Foundoukidis, analyst at Oddo BHF.

A disturbing beige book

Tesla has also published its results for the first quarter, with a plunge in its operating margin, the price cuts combined with cost increases eroding its profitability. What Wall Street does not like, Tesla stock fell 7.3% in pre-opening trading.

Another point that weighs on the market: the beige book of the American Federal Reserve. This document from the central bank, which assesses the state of the American economy, showed some worrying signs.

“With regard to credit conditions, five districts mentioned tightening of conditions, with one New York respondent indicating that ‘credit standards have tightened significantly for all types of loans’,” Deutsche Bank said. deterioration in financing conditions is obviously linked to tensions in the banking sector following the bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).

Sartorius Stedim dives

On the values, in addition to the automobile, many are the companies to have published sales or financial results. L’Oréal manages to progress (+0.2%) driven by the publication of growth almost twice as high as expected at the start of the year, despite disappointing activity in Asia and China.

Sartorius Stedim Biotech for its part fell by more than 7%, its results suffering from a normalization of demand for its products linked to Covid-19.

Getlink wins 1.8% after publishing a 123% jump in revenue, most of which is explained by the activity of the Eleclink electrical interconnection, connected since May 2022 in the Channel Tunnel, and which added 230 million euros to revenues for the first three months of the year. But the group’s traditional activities (shuttles for individuals and goods transport trucks, use of the tunnel by rail companies) were also dynamic, with a 23% increase on a like-for-like basis.

On other markets, the euro gained 0.1% against the dollar, at 1.0963 dollars. Oil prices are falling sharply. North Sea Brent crude for June delivery fell 1.6% to $81.76 a barrel while New York-listed WTI for May fell 1.8% to $77.71 a barrel.