(News Bulletin 247) – The CAC 40 ended slightly down on Friday, but recovered ground over the week as a whole. Data on price increases on both sides of the Atlantic support the hypothesis of rate cuts by the Fed and the ECB in September. Oil, for its part, is falling, while OPEC+ could increase its production in October.

The Paris Stock Exchange ended the week on a false note, but one that remains anecdotal. The CAC 40 lost 0.13% to 7,630.95 points this Friday. Over the week as a whole, the index gained 0.71%, extending the recovery that began in mid-August.

So much so that in August, the CAC 40 gained 1.32%, despite the turbulence caused by the American employment report at the beginning of the month and despite Nvidia’s results being punished by the market.

Returning to Friday’s session, inflation figures focused attention. In the United States, the PCE index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge for measuring price increases, rose 2.6% in July over a year compared with a 2.7% increase expected by economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal.

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Crédit Agricole and Air France-KLM stand out

“Overall, this report indicates that the Fed is likely to cut rates by 25 basis points (0.25 percentage points, editor’s note) next month,” notes Capital Economics.

In the eurozone, inflation has slowed. It stood at 2.2% in August compared to 2.6% in July. This also validates the theory of a new rate cut by the European Central Bank in September. The governor of the Bank of France, François Villeroy de Galhau, also judged this Friday that it would be “fair and wise” for the institution to lower its rates in September, according to comments relayed by the Reuters agency.

On the value side, Crédit Agricole SA gained 2.57%, the biggest increase in the CAC 40, benefiting from an increase in its buy advice from HSBC.

Spie and Elis gained 3.8% and 2% respectively. The common point between these two very different groups (mechanical engineering on the one hand and industrial laundry on the other) is that JP Morgan resumed monitoring them this Friday with an “overweight” recommendation for each of them.

Air France-KLM gained 4.1%. In a note, Stifel reports that CFO Steven Zaat confirmed that he expects the group’s unit revenue to increase (excluding the impact of the Olympic Games) in the third quarter. This is what the research firm considers “encouraging”.

On other markets, the euro lost 0.16% to the dollar at 1.1063 dollars. Oil fell sharply. Reuters sources indicated that OPEC+, that is, the member countries of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies, is ready to increase its production as early as October.

The November contract on North Sea Brent lost 2.4% to $76.91 per barrel, while that on WTI listed in New York fell 3% to $73.66 per barrel.