(News Bulletin 247) – The CAC 40 progressed sharply in mid-session, while market operators dissect both the inflation figures in the United States and China.

The Paris Stock Exchange does not give in to gloom. After two sessions of decline, the CAC 40 regained some ground and returned to contact with 7,400 points, at 7,395.14 points at mid-session, up 0.46%.

Investors seem to be struggling to know which foot to dance to since the release of US inflation figures on Wednesday afternoon. While the US markets had reacted rather badly at first, they ended generally up at the close on Wednesday evening.

Inflation data for April came out mixed. While the headline figure was weaker than expected, rising 4.9%, core inflation (excluding food and energy prices) held steady at 5.5%, in line with the expectations. But market operators seem to see in these figures an additional argument for the American Federal Reserve (Fed) to stop raising key rates and thus put an end to its cycle of monetary tightening.

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Beneteau at full speed

“Yesterday’s inflation data was particularly welcomed as it supports the idea of ​​a pause in the Fed’s rate hike cycle at the next meeting,” said Michael Hewson of CMC Markets.

Traders are also dissecting inflation figures in China, where prices rose just 0.1% year on year in April, less than the 0.3% rate forecast by economists.

Investors also take note of the monetary policy decision of the Bank of England, which raised its rates by 0.25 basis point, or 0.25%.

As for values, Alstom rebounded (+3.2%) after falling 2.4% the day before. The group then published its annual results, shifted its medium-term objectives by one year, and saw its credit rating be lowered by Moody’s.

Beneteau is a hit (+11.7%), after publishing like-for-like revenue growth of nearly 50% in the first quarter and raising its targets for 2023.

Another good progression was that of Solutions 30 (+7%), which saw its growth exceed 14% in the first quarter, thanks to the jump in revenues in the Benelux region (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg).

Elis, for its part, lost ground (-1.1%) after having published a dynamic start to the year in terms of income but without any real surprise for the market.

On other markets, the euro fell 0.5% against the dollar to 1.0924 dollars. Oil prices are up a bit. The July contract on North Sea Brent rose 0.7% to 76.95 dollars a barrel while the June contract on New York-listed WTI gained 0.7% to 73.05 dollars a barrel.