(News Bulletin 247) – The Parisian index varies little this Friday at mid-session, still on guard with regard to the political climate in France and lack of activity on the American markets which will be open for a shortened session. The CAC 40 is therefore limiting its initiatives while S&P will decide this Friday evening on the rating it gives to France’s debt.
The Paris Stock Exchange is pressing the handbrake this Friday, lacking the energy to tackle this new session which will mark the return of American investors… But for a truncated session, Wall Street will close its doors the day after Thanksgiving at 1 p.m. , local time (i.e. 7 p.m. in Paris).
The CAC 40 therefore oscillates around its equilibrium point at 7,178.55 points, this Friday at midday. On Thursday, the flagship Parisian index gained a little more than 0.5% despite the absence of benchmarks from Wall Street, closed for Thanksgiving.
The political situation in France in the viewfinder
Operators always remain very attentive to the political situation in France. On Thursday, Prime Minister Michel Barnier announced in an interview at Figaro renounce the increase in taxes on electricity, one of Marine Le Pen’s main demands. This concession on this sensitive subject then helped the Parisian index to record its first marked progression of the week (+0.5%). The goal being for Michel Barnier and his government to escape censorship.
In this context, investors are feverishly awaiting the verdict from the S&P agency on the French sovereign debt rating.
Sparse business news
In terms of statistics, it was a day of inflation in Europe. Calculated according to European standards, consumer prices in the euro zone in November increased by 2.3%, in line with the consensus, and after 2% in October. Underlying inflation appears stable at 2.7%, which is slightly lower than consensus expectations of 2.8%.
“Headline inflation is up in November as expected, but the stability of core inflation is the positive surprise from this preliminary inflation report. Above all, disinflation in services is resuming and this movement will have to intensify in the coming months so that inflation can reach its target in a sustainable manner,” notes Juliette Cohen, strategist at CPRAM.
“The ECB is expected to carry out a further rate cut of 25 basis points at its meeting on December 12. The increased confidence in the disinflation process as well as the weak growth dynamic of the euro zone justify the continued withdrawal of the character restrictive monetary policy,” she continues.
On the business side, the news remains sparse. Elior jumped 6.2% benefiting from a boost from JP Morgan which raised its opinion to overweight and its price target from 3.50 euros to 4.50 euros.
Elis is down slightly by 0.2%, the industrial laundry specialist announced the acquisition of the Spanish group Carsan.
On the foreign exchange market, the euro is stable against the greenback at 1.0563 dollars. On the oil side, the January contract on Brent from the North Sea lost 0.8% to 72.22 dollars per barrel while that of the same maturity on WTI listed in New York was down 0.4% at 68.42 dollars per barrel.
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