by Claude Chendjou

PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets closed a fifth week in a row in the green on Friday, driven in particular by the good figures for activity in services in Europe, while on Wall Street, the indices were stable at the end as investors digested mixed corporate results and mixed macro data.

In Paris, the CAC 40, driven by the values ​​of health and luxury, finished on a new record at 7,577 points. The British Footsie, up 0.15%, benefited from the improvement in the GfK consumer confidence index which reached its highest level since February 2022. The German Dax, driven in particular by the automobile, advanced by 0.54%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index rose 0.54%, the FTSEurofirst 300 0.29% and the Stoxx 600 0.34%.

At the end of an indecisive session, marked by the “three witches” – the expiry of several derivative products – over the whole week, the CAC 40 gained 0.76% and the Stoxx 600 0.45 %, fifth consecutive weekly increase.

Investors welcomed monthly ‘flash’ PMI indicators which showed a composite index in the euro zone in April at 54.4, an 11-month high, while in the UK it accelerated to 53 .9 after 52.2 in March. However, the difficulties in the manufacturing sector continued, highlighting the risks weighing on the global economy with the accelerated rise in central bank interest rates.

In the United States, where the PMIs were also published, the composite index rose to 53.5 in April from 52.3 in March. The previous day’s US statistics marked by a Conference Board index at its lowest since November 2020, a drop in home resales in March and a “Philly Fed” activity index at its weakest level in almost three years, however accentuated the fear of a recession, less than two weeks before the meeting of the Fed which should raise its interest rates again.

VALUES IN EUROPE

In Europe, the healthcare sector (+1.72%) posted the best performance of the Stoxx 600, notably with EssilorLuxottica, which jumped 6.27% after the publication of quarterly sales that exceeded expectations.

On the other side of the spectrum, the basic resources compartment (-3.86%) suffered from the decline in copper prices, in a context of fears about demand.

Elsewhere in Europe, the German software publisher SAP took 5.24% after a better than expected quarterly turnover, while the Italian group Salvatore Ferragammo (-5.93%) was penalized by the decline in sales quarterly.

AT WALL STREET

At the time of the close in Europe, the Dow Jones fell 0.05%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 0.02%, while the Nasdaq nibbled 0.01%

Procter & Gamble (+3.94%) offered support to the indices with the raising of its annual sales target, the giant of fast-moving consumer goods estimating that the rise in prices should compensate for a fall in volumes.

Tesla (+ 1.12%) regained some of the ground lost the day before, thanks to the increase in the prices of its high-end electric vehicles.

Tech stocks like Apple, Meta Platforms and Microsoft lost 0.14% to 0.94% as bond yields rallied as US private sector activity accelerated to an 11-month high in April.

CHANGES

The dollar is stable against a basket of benchmark currencies but is heading for its first weekly gain (+0.2%) since the end of February.

The euro rose to 1.097 dollars (+0.03%) after hitting a low during the session at .0938.

RATE

Government bond yields are on the rise, with the latest PMI data pointing to higher borrowing costs.

That of the ten-year German Bund ended with a gain of 4.2 basis points, at 2.48%, and gained over the whole week around six points after rising 25 points last week.

The yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds is up about 2.5 points, to 3.56%.

OIL

The oil market is heading for a heavy loss, of about 5% over the whole week against a backdrop of economic uncertainties linked to the expected continuation of monetary tightening.

Around 4:00 p.m. GMT, however, Brent gained 0.65% to 81.63 dollars a barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) 0.66% to 77.88 dollars.

(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Tangi Salaün)

Copyright © 2023 Thomson Reuters