(News Bulletin 247) – The Parisian index raised its highest mark to more than 8,256 points this Friday. Optimism about Fed rate cuts continues to support the market.

In the torpor of a May bridge, the CAC 40 sets a new session record. The Parisian index reached 8,256.71 points around 11 a.m. this Friday, exceeding its previous high which stood at just over 8,253 points.

Around 11:50 a.m., the Parisian index rose 0.75% to 8,249.33 points. Over the week as a whole, the CAC 40 is up 3.7% for the moment.

“Investors’ appetite for risk continues to increase, driving benchmark indices towards one of their best weekly performances since the start of 2024,” explains Pierre Veyret, technical analyst at ActivTrades.

“This bullish impulse took root after investors, previously disappointed by restrictive guidance from the Fed (the US Federal Reserve) and geopolitical tensions, welcomed strong first quarter corporate results in the US and in the European Union,” he continues.

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Legrand at the top of the CAC 40

“More importantly, with the latest US data suggesting the Fed may be unable to maintain its restrictive stance for much longer,” hopes for a more accommodative monetary policy “are back in the spotlight, fueling market sentiment towards risky assets”, adds Pierre Veyret.

According to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, more than 60% of investors expect the Fed’s key rates to be lowered by 50 basis points, or 0.5 percentage points, over the year as a whole.

As for the indicators this Friday, nothing very transcendent, except the GDP of the United Kingdom in the first quarter, which increased by 0.6% sequentially. In the month of March alone, GDP grew by 0.4% against 0.1% expected by economists polled by Reuters.

In terms of values, the rise in the market is very homogeneous, with all CAC 40 values ​​progressing without exception. The largest variation, however, is signed by Legrand which takes 2.6% while the Citi bank raised its opinion by two notches from “sell” to “buy” on the stock.

Air France-KLM grew by 3% while its British competitor IAG revealed first quarter results above expectations and gained 1.2% on the London Stock Exchange.

On other markets, the euro is stable against the dollar at 1.0787 dollars. Oil is moving forward a little. The July contract on North Sea Brent advanced 0.4% to $84.23 per barrel while the June contract on WTI listed in New York gained 0.5% to $79.70 per barrel.