(News Bulletin 247) – The CAC 40 is up slightly at midday this Friday, December 29, the last session of a year which will constitute a good vintage for the Parisian market.

In peace, the Paris Stock Exchange is preparing to turn the page on a year 2023 which saw it push its records higher, both during the session (7,653.99 points on December 14) and at the close (7,596. 61 points on December 15). For now, the CAC 40 is recording growth of 16.77% over the whole year while the CAC GR (with dividends reinvested) is up 20.35%.

This Friday, December 29, the CAC 40 advances a little, gaining 0.3% at mid-session, to 7,559.38 points, slightly supported by the good closing of Wall Street the day before, the Dow Jones having reached a new record while the S&P 500 is touching it (the index is 0.3% from its 2022 record, according to the Wall Street Journal).

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The Paris Stock Exchange has hardly any catalyst to put into its mouth this Friday, as has been the case throughout this week, very poor in announcements and indicators. But optimism fueled by expectations of key rate cuts from major central banks next year continues to prevail.

“The idea that major central banks have certainly done enough to curb the 2022-23 inflationary surge is driving the recovery,” Brian Barish, chief investment officer of Cambiar Investors LLC, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

In terms of values, as one might expect, it is very calm. LVMH took 0.9%, the biggest increase of the day on the CAC 40, while Engie, the biggest drop, suffered a decline of 0.3%.

Outside of the CAC 40, Carmat stands out a little, however, gaining 6.5% after announcing a software update which will improve the security profile of its artificial hearts.

On other markets, the euro gained 0.05% against the dollar to 1.1067 dollars. Oil prices are sluggish. The March North Sea Brent contract advanced 0.7% to $77.66 per barrel, while the February contract for WTI listed in New York gained 0.5% to $72.15 per barrel.