(News Bulletin 247) – The Paris Stock Exchange closed down on Wednesday, penalized by its luxury heavyweights following the disappointing results of LVMH. The CAC 40 lost more than 1% to approach 7,500 points.

Investors are not giving away any gifts during this half-year results season, which is adding to the trend on the Paris Stock Exchange. At the close this Wednesday evening, the CAC 40 lost 1.1% and is now approaching 7,500 points, at 7,513.73 points.

The Paris index buckled under the decline of its largest resident, LVMH, which delivered a more than lackluster performance. The luxury leader reported disappointing growth in the second quarter and a sharp drop in margin in the first half on Tuesday evening. Its share price dropped 4.7%, dragging Kering down in its wake, which fell 4.5% while Hermès contained its decline to 2.1%.

Tesla punished on Wall Street

It should be noted that on the other side of the Atlantic, sanctions are also in full swing. On Wall Street, Tesla’s results were disappointing, with the stock falling 10.8% at the close of European markets. This is also the case, but to a lesser extent, for Alphabet, which is down 3.6%.

For now, the earnings season is clearly not good. “So far, these disappointing results (in Europe, editor’s note) have only provided investors with additional reasons to withdraw part of their profits, naturally leading to corrective movements on many benchmark indices,” notes Pierre Veyret, analyst at Activtrades.

In terms of statistics, the news is also not very encouraging in Europe, with poor activity indicators for the month of July. The S&P Global flash composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the eurozone fell by 0.8 points to 50.1 in July, below consensus expectations (50.9).

“The manufacturing sector was again a source of significant weakness, with the manufacturing PMI index firmly anchored in the contraction zone (-0.2 points, bringing it down to 45.6 in July),” explains Nadia Gharbi, Senior Economist at Pictet Wealth Management.

The good surprises from Nexans and Dassault Aviation

Second biggest increase in the CAC 40, behind Edenred (+3.7%), Eurofins Scientific gained 3.3%. The giant of analysis laboratories revealed a record activity in the first half, and remains confident about achieving its 2024 objectives while reiterating its outlook for 2027.

Orange grew by 1.3%, supported by its first-half results which were driven by a “good surprise” in Africa, notes Oddo BHF, its main results indicator, Ebitdaal, having grown by 15% in this zone.

BNP Paribas fell 0.9% after reporting better-than-expected results. But the retail bank’s pre-tax profit, particularly in France, disappointed.

On the SBF 120, some groups have successfully met their meeting with the market. This is the case of the cable manufacturer Nexans which jumped by 8.30% after having significantly raised its objectives for the 2024 financial year.

Or Dassault Aviation (+7.7%), which generated strong cash flow in the first half of the year and confirmed its objectives for 2024.

Excluding publications, NRJ Group plunged by 9%, while the audiovisual regulator decided not to pre-select NRJ 12’s application for the reallocation of its TNT frequency.

On other markets, the euro is stable against the dollar at 1.0852 dollars. Oil is recovering. The September contract on North Sea Brent is up 0.8% at 81.72 dollars per barrel while the August contract on WTI listed in New York is up 1% at 77.75 dollars per barrel.