(News Bulletin 247) – The Parisian index is gaining ground this Tuesday as Thales jumps thanks to cash generation well above expectations.

At the pace at which the CAC 40 is advancing, it will take several more days to cross the psychological threshold of 8,000 points. For now, the Parisian index is gaining 0.01% at mid-session on Tuesday, to 7,957.02 points.

On the macroeconomic side, China announced that it was targeting growth of around 5% this year, during its parliamentary sessions. An announcement that is anything but surprising.

The market will also keep an eye on American politics as “Super Tuesday” takes place this Tuesday, a day when a significant number of primaries take place, with 15 states organizing them. “On the Republican side, (…) the only two major candidates are Donald Trump and Nikki Haley. But Donald Trump has already gained a considerable lead in terms of delegates in the early states, and he now leads Nikki Haley by 273 delegates, compared to 43 “, notes Jim Reid of Deutsche Bank.

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Thales featured

The center stage, however, is occupied by Thales. The defense and technology group takes more than 8%, bringing in its wake Dassault Aviation (+3.2%) which owns 26% of its capital. The company generated cash flow well above expectations and slightly better operating profitability than expected.

Euroapi seems to have taken out a subscription to the stock market urchins. The specialist in active pharmaceutical ingredients drops 10% after Deutsche Bank lowered its sell recommendation on the stock.

The German bank judges that the group could still disappoint on its margins, while the company had already impressed the market last week (the stock lost 43% on Thursday) with its outlook completely contrary to expectations.

On other markets, the euro fell 0.1% against the dollar to 1.0850 dollars. Oil is sluggish. The North Sea Brent contract fell 0.4% to $82.45 per barrel, while WTI listed in New York lost 0.7% to $78.222. The ounce of gold, for its part, is within reach of its historic highs. The precious metal advanced 0.4% to $2,123.16 per ounce, while its highest was $2,135.39 according to Bloomberg.