(News Bulletin 247) – The Paris Stock Exchange posted its heaviest decline since the beginning of the month as signs of an economic slowdown in the euro zone materialized and negotiations stalled on the US debt file. The sharp decline in luxury after an analyst’s note and Vivendi in the wake of a sale of securities weighed on the trend.

Black clouds are gathering in the Paris stock market sky. The trend was clearly anchored in the red on Tuesday after the publication of indicators less good than expected in the euro zone while the negotiations on the ceiling of the American debt are struggling to progress.

Luxury, which usually acts as a shock absorber, this time fueled the decline in the CAC 40, which fell 1.31% back below 7,400 points to 7,378.71 points. The Parisian index thus posted its heaviest daily drop since May 2 (-1.45%).

Red lantern of the CAC 40, Hermès plunged 6.4% while LVMH lost 5%, weighed down by a note from Deutsche Bank which calls for caution on luxury on the stock market and does not advise buying either of the two values cited French. Kering for its part lost 3%.

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Negotiations still stalled on US debt

Earlier in the day, investors were put off by disappointing activity indicators in the euro zone. The eurozone flash composite PMI, published by S&P Global Research and which measures private sector activity, came in below expectations for May, coming in at 53.3 from 53.5. expected by economists, according to Capital Economics. Remember that the figure of 50 marks the border between an expansion and a contraction of activity.

The index corresponding to the manufacturing industry fell to a low of 36 months. “A sharp increase in activity in the services sector has indeed contrasted with an acceleration of the decline in production in the manufacturing sector”, notes S&P Global, which underlines “increasingly unbalanced growth” in terms of sectors.

Uncertainty was also fueled by the lack of progress on the thorny issue of raising the US debt ceiling. President Joe Biden and House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy failed to reach an agreement after meeting overnight Monday through Tuesday. But Kevin McCarthy spoke of “productive discussions” with a better tone.

“The latest information, following the meeting between Joe Biden and members of congress yesterday, is that the discussions are going well, but that there is still a long way to go,” summarizes Vincent Boy, market analyst at IG France.

Bolloré leads Vivendi

As for values, Vivendi also put the CAC 40 under pressure (-3.6%) after the sale of shares in a subsidiary company of the Bolloré group. This operation weakens the scenario of a potential takeover bid by the Bolloré group on Vivendi, which several analysts saw coming in the fall, Vivendi then having to cancel shares, which should make the Bolloré group go beyond above 30% of the capital, threshold for automatic triggering of a takeover bid. But the sales of shares operated by Groupe Bolloré lend credibility to the idea that the company will sell shares by then to avoid going above this threshold.

In smaller caps, Valbiotis jumped 20.8% driven by positive clinical results for its dietary supplement aimed at preventing type 2 diabetes.

Medesis Pharma took 9%, the Montpellier biotech announced having received a favorable report from the experts of the Independent Clinical Data Safety Monitoring Committee on its phase 2 clinical study for NanoLithium, its experimental treatment in Alzheimer’s disease.

Bonduelle for its part gained 5.3% after the appointment of its new CEO, Xavier Unkovic, who has solid experience in North America, a region where the company is encountering difficulties.

It should be noted that the Casino share was suspended from trading when the group had given itself until 5 p.m. to request a conciliation procedure to renegotiate the terms of its debt with its creditor banks with potential rescheduling or acceptance of a discount.

On the other markets, the euro lost 0.3% against the dollar at 1.0775 dollars. Oil prices are well oriented. The contract on Brent from the North Sea for delivery in July takes 1.6% to 77.19 dollars a barrel while that of the same expiry on WTI listed in New York advances by 1.8% to 73.32 dollars. the barrel.