(News Bulletin 247) – The Paris Stock Exchange is down for a second session. The CAC 40 is down 0.7%, returning to below 7,600 points on Tuesday evening.

The Paris Stock Exchange remained on the ropes this Tuesday. The CAC 40 ended down 0.69%, below 7,600 points at 7,580.03 points on Tuesday evening, still stunned by a luxury sector in poor shape.

On Monday, the leading Parisian index had already fallen 1.2%, already penalized by its luxury segment after several setbacks in this sector. Elsewhere in Europe, the declines were more contained since London fell 0.2% while Frankfurt lost 0.4%.

Risk-taking was also tempered by disappointing Chinese growth figures on Monday. In economic indicators released today, German investor sentiment, as measured by the Zew index, deteriorated more than expected in July, falling to 41.8 points from 47.5 points the previous month and a Reuters consensus of 42.3 points.

In the United States, on the other hand, the trend is upward. At the close of European markets, the major American indices are progressing, up to 1.5% for the Dow Jones, after corporate results deemed generally satisfactory.

Retail sales, which measure US household consumption, remained stable in June compared to May, when a 0.4% decline was expected over a month. Today’s statistic does not hamper the markets’ hopes for a first rate cut by the Fed. They are 93.3% hoping for a rate cut of a quarter of a point (0.25 percentage points) in September.

Luxury still dinged, Scor dives

In terms of values, luxury remained under pressure, with Kering losing 3.10%, Hermès 2.3% and LVMH 1.9%, still stunned by the disappointing figures from Burberry and Swatch the day before. This Tuesday, Hugo Boss also disappointed, and its shares ended sharply down 7.5% in Frankfurt. On the other hand, the Swiss company Richemont delivered a publication deemed satisfactory by analysts and its shares gained 0.95% in Zurich.

The day’s plunge is mainly blamed on Scor (-24.6%), which issued a profit warning on Monday evening, forced to revise upwards its provisions in its “health and life” division, due in particular to a higher than expected mortality rate in the United States. As a result, the result of this branch will show a significant loss in the second quarter.

On other markets, gold is up sharply, at new all-time highs, the yellow metal benefiting in particular from expectations of rate cuts by the Fed. The euro is down slightly by 0.1% against the dollar at $1.0885. Oil is falling. The September contract on North Sea Brent is down 1% at $83.98 a barrel, while the August contract on WTI listed in New York is down 1.1% at $79.93 a barrel.