(News Bulletin 247) – The Parisian index is falling sharply this Wednesday, weighed down by the drop in the oil major. Conversely, the automobile industry is doing well, supported by good results from Ford.

After lifting the CAC 40 on Tuesday, Totalenergies boosts the Parisian index this Wednesday. The CAC 40 fell by 0.16% to 7,626.43 points at mid-session, undermined by the decline of almost 3% in the oil group, one of the highest weightings in the index.

The major has certainly published a record profit of nearly 20 billion euros for 2023, but the group benefited from a favorable basis of comparison since the 2022 financial year had been weighed down by heavy charges of nearly 15 billion of dollars linked to Russia. Ultimately, its fourth quarter results were slightly below expectations while its announcements on shareholder distribution (dividends, share buybacks) turned out to be just in line. Enough to encourage profit-taking, while the stock had gained 1.8% the day before.

On the Chinese side, the meeting between President Xi Jinping and the local market regulatory authorities resulted in… the replacement of the president of the stock market watchdog, the CSRC (China Securities Regulator Commission). Wu Qing, nicknamed “the butcher of brokers” according to Bloomberg, replaces Yi Huiman at its head. Let’s see what this palace revolution will mean in the coming days for the Chinese markets. Immediately, the CSI 300, which brings together the large capitalizations of the Shenzhen and Shanghai markets, gained 0.96% this Wednesday after gaining 3.5% the day before.

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Ford carries the automobile

If the news in terms of economic indicators turns out to be quite calm this week, the difficulties of American regional banks have returned to haunt Wall Street for several sessions, via the New York Community Bank, which had bought Signature Bank during the previous episode of tensions last spring.

The establishment’s action collapsed by 22% on Tuesday evening, lost another 8% in pre-opening trading, and has lost almost 60% since the start of the year. Tuesday Moody’s lowered its rating to speculative category, judging that the group is facing Herculean challenges both financially and in terms of its governance. The bank is facing significant losses on its real estate loans, due to the fall in value of the properties against which these loans are backed.

As for French stocks excluding Totalenergies, automobiles are doing well. Stellantis takes 2.5% and Renault 2.3%. Both values ​​can be driven by the good results of Ford, the American group having revealed accounts higher than expectations and counting on an American market that is at worst stable or at best increasing slightly in 2024, in terms of volumes. Its action takes nearly 6% in pre-opening trading on Wall Street.

Air France-KLM lost 4.6% while Société Générale lowered its advice to “hold” from “buy” previously.

Asset manager Amundi lost 3.9%, penalized by profits, margins and net inflows that were less vigorous than expected by analysts, according to Royal Bank of Canada.

On other markets, the euro gained 0.1% against the dollar. Oil is rising a little. The April North Sea Brent contract advanced 0.6% to $79.06 per barrel, while the March New York-listed WTI contract gained 0.7% to $73.81 per barrel. barrel.