(News Bulletin 247) – The Paris Stock Exchange buckled under profit-taking this Friday, the day after a powerful rebound fueled by the Fed’s decision to lower its rates. The CAC 40 closed down 1.50% on Friday evening, but saved its honor over the week as a whole (+0.47%).

The day after its best session of the year (+2.29%), the Paris Stock Exchange took a hit. The CAC 40 thus ended the week with a heavy decline of 1.51% to close at the lowest point of the day, at 7,500.26 points.

These profit-takings were supported by a certain volatility on this exceptional day of the four witches, a session during which four types of derivative products expire simultaneously.

The balance sheet is however positive for the week for the Paris index which gains 0.47%. It must be said that the world markets welcomed, on Thursday, the announcement of the reduction of the key rates of the American Federal Reserve (Fed) by 50 points (0.5 percentage point).

“The Fed has therefore spoken and the markets have generally appreciated it: this is the message of the week,” summarizes Florian Ielpo, head of macroeconomic research at Lombard Odier Investment Managers.

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Car manufacturers in trouble, upcoming takeover bid for Esker

On the value side, car manufacturers suffered from the profit warning from Mercedes, which fell by 6.8% in Frankfurt. In its wake, Stellantis lost 3.4% and Renault lost 2.6%.

In New York, Fedex plunged by 14.3%, punished after a downward revision of its forecasts for 2024, Thursday evening.

The dematerialization software specialist Esker, on the other hand, rebounded by 12.3%, to 264 euros, above the 262 euros per share offered by the British fund Bridgepoint, which joined forces with the General Atlantic fund and the managers to finalize a public purchase offer for the Lyon group.

On other markets, the euro is stable against the dollar at $1.1154. Oil is losing ground. The November North Sea Brent contract is down 0.5% at $74.53 a barrel while the New York-listed WTI contract is up 0.2% at $71.00 a barrel.