(News Bulletin 247) – The Parisian index is close to balance at mid-session this Friday, on a day still marked by company publications.

The Paris Stock Exchange must still scrutinize numerous company results. Without getting carried away or seizing up: the CAC 40 fell by 0.1% to 7,660.48 points at mid-session this Friday.

Macroeconomic news remains very hollow. On Thursday, American bond rates tightened a little following the release of weekly unemployment claims. Note, in passing, that the S&P 500 still exceeded 5,000 points for the first time during the session (barely).

Above all, investors must dissect a wave of company publications. L’Oréal, the second largest capitalization in Paris after LMVH, is particularly suffering, losing 5.4%. The cosmetics group published growth significantly below expectations over the last three months of 2023, weighed down by China, where sales in airports and train stations are weighed down by the fight against the gray market.

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Hermès never disappointing

Conversely, Hermès gained 4.8% after publishing growth of 17.5% on a comparable basis in the fourth quarter, significantly higher than the figure of 14% expected by the consensus. The saddler once again takes on the role of best luxury student in terms of growth.

The hit of the day, however, is from Ubisoft (+19%) which defied predictions by publishing revenues higher than expectations and above all by confirming its prospects, while the market was very clearly expecting a lowering of its objectives.

Airbus drops 1.4%. The aeronautics group’s action stalled a little around 12 p.m., when the Reuters news agency reported that the aircraft manufacturer had informed several companies of delivery delays of several months on aircraft expected at the end of 2024 and in 2025, in due to persistent supply difficulties.

Kering takes 1.2% benefiting from an increase in purchasing advice from UBS, the Swiss bank judging that the worst has passed through the parent company of Gucci. She also considers that the recovery of the Italian brand has chances of success, seeing signs of better dynamics.

Conversely, UBS went from “buy” to “neutral” on BNP Paribas which lost 1.7%. “BNP is cheap in absolute terms, but we believe it is too dependent on the growth of CIB (the corporate and investment bank, Editor’s note) to achieve its return on tangible equity (ROTE) objective,” advances the Swiss bank.

As for mid-sized stocks, the semiconductor group X-Fab plunged 15.5% after publishing outlooks below expectations, notes Degroof Petercam.

On other markets, the euro is stable against the dollar at 1.0774 dollars. Oil is sluggish: the April contract on North Sea Brent fell 0.1% to 81.52 dollars per barrel, while that of the same maturity on WTI listed in New York was stable at 76.19 dollars per barrel.