(News Bulletin 247) – The CAC 40 continues its good momentum this Friday, with a sharp rise in the middle of the session, while the Republicans and the Democrats prove to be close to an agreement on the raising of the American debt ceiling . Ubisoft suffers, downgraded to “sale” by UBS.

The renewed form of the CAC 40 is confirmed this Friday. At mid-session, the Parisian index won 0.7% to 7,500 points. Over the week as a whole, the CAC 40 has so far regained more than 1%.

Optimism continues to prevail as an agreement to raise the US debt ceiling, needed to avoid a default, appears to be on track. The White House has reported “steady progress” as President Joe Biden left for Tokyo for the G7 summit.

According to Deutsche Bank, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy told him he now saw how a deal could be reached and that the negotiations are “in a much better place”.

“He even said he expected the House to consider a deal next week, and that a ‘deal in principle’ could be reached this weekend,” the bank added.

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UBS leads Ubisoft

On the monetary policy front, several members of the Federal Reserve (Fed) issued “hawkish” (restrictive) statements, fueling caution over the potential pause in rate hikes by the US central bank. Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said recent economic data did not warrant the Fed skipping a further rate hike in June.

On values, Ubisoft fell 3%, suffering from a downgrade to “sell” from the bank UBS.

Cyclical stocks continue to carry the CAC 40, with a 2% increase in STMicroelectronics and Saint-Gobain.

As for mid caps, ESI Group (+3.5%) has been supported for two sessions by takeover speculation, the company having indicated that it is conducting preliminary discussions with a view to a potential sale.

On other markets, the euro gained 0.2% against the dollar at 1.0797 dollars. Oil contracts are progressing. The contract on Brent from the North Sea for delivery in July is awarded 0.9% at 76.54 dollars a barrel while that on WTI listed in New York for June advances by 0.8% to 72.47 dollars per barrel.