(News Bulletin 247) – The Paris Stock Exchange closed up 0.35% after learning of reassuring data on American prices. However, caution remains the order of the day ahead of the publication of inflation figures in the United States, the statistical highlight of the week.

The Paris Stock Exchange notes a slight slowdown in producer prices in the United States. However, the reaction on the Paris market was measured after the publication of the first American statistics of the week.

The CAC 40 closed up 0.35% at 7,275.87 points, after trading for a good part of the afternoon close to its equilibrium point.

On Wall Street, the main indices are firmly anchored in the green, notably the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 which are climbing by more than 1%, while the Dow Jones is up 0.4% at the close of European markets.

The data published on Tuesday indeed show a decrease in inflationary pressures on the producer side. The wholesale price index actually rose by 0.1% in July, which is lower than the market consensus which was counting on a rise of 0.2%. Year-on-year, producer prices rose by 2.2% last month, against a rise of 2.7% in June.

The small 0.1% increase in the producer price index in July “is not as good as it looks, but it is nonetheless consistent with core PCE prices, the Fed’s preferred measure, rising at an annualized rate of less than 2%,” says Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics.

The markets are mainly thinking elsewhere, tomorrow to be more precise. They are waiting, not without a hint of feverishness, for its equivalent on the consumer side for the month of July. The consumer price index has in fact a much more notable influence on stock market indices, since this data counts for the American Federal Reserve in its judgment on its monetary policy.

While a rate cut is now a given for September, the main question animating the markets is whether the Fed will reduce its rates by a quarter or a half percentage point.

Valneva in great shape

In corporate news, Valneva finished at the top of the SBF 120, thanks to a 7.8% increase. The laboratory confirmed its annual outlook after returning to profit in the first half.

GTT gained 5.2%, benefiting from an upgrade in opinion from Berenberg which moved to buy on the stock with a price target of 155 euros.

Planisware appreciated by 5.4%, while the software publisher will be included, at the end of the month, in the MSCI World Small Cap index, just like Clariane (+6.6%) and Rémy Cointreau (-2.5%). On the other hand, GL Events will be excluded, which explains the heavy decline in the stock of the event specialist (-7.4%).

On the foreign exchange market, the euro is recovering some colour at 1.0949 dollars. Oil prices are in the red in the wake of a slight downward revision of OPEC’s forecasts on the growth of demand for black gold.

“This adjustment was influenced by falling demand in China, where declining consumption and a struggling real estate market have dampened economic activity,” explains Li Xing Gan of Exness.

The price of a barrel of North Sea Brent crude for delivery in October fell by 1.6% to $80.96, while that of WTI crude for delivery in the same month fell by 1.75% to $78.66.