(News Bulletin 247) – The Paris Stock Exchange closed slightly higher this Tuesday evening, helped by the progress of the pharmaceutical group as well as those of Hermès and LVMH. The CAC 40 increased by 0.12% to 7,365.70 points.

First increase of the week for the Paris Stock Exchange, even if it is timid. The CAC 40 closed slightly up 0.12% at 7,365.70 points.

On Wall Street, the American indices are oriented at the close of the European markets. In the afternoon, operators became aware of contrasting figures on household consumption. Retail sales for the month of November increased by 0.7% over one month, against an increase of 0.5% anticipated by the consensus.

“That said, core retail sales, excluding automobiles and gasoline, did not meet expectations, which gives a more mixed picture, but not necessarily disappointing,” says Bret Kenwell, US markets analyst for eToro.

These figures should not call into question a rate cut which should be decided at the end of the meeting of the American Federal Reserve (Fed). This meeting begins this Tuesday and will end on Wednesday.

“There should be no major surprises from the Fed. A cut of 25 basis points (0.25 percentage points) is expected by 94% of market participants. However, the big unknown concerns the speed of the rate cut next year,” explains William Gerlach of iBanfirst.

The markets also took note a little earlier in the day of the decline in the Ifo, which gauges the morale of German investors. This index fell to 84.7 in December, compared to 85.6 in November, the lowest since May 2020.

Sanofi in good shape after clinical results

On the value side, the CAC 40 is supported by several of its largest capitalizations. Including Sanofi which closed up 3.3% after the pharmaceutical group and its partner Teva announced satisfactory results from a phase 2b clinical trial for duvakitug, a potential treatment against ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

Airbus (+0.4%) and Safran (0.6%) also supported the trend. Deutsche Bank has moved to purchase both stocks, judging that Airbus should better control its supply chain in 2025. For Safran, the bank believes that the recent decline in the stock after its disappointing investor day constitutes a point of improvement. entrance.

Luxury performed well. LVMH gained 0.7% and Hermès 1.5%. In a note published this Tuesday, HSBC reiterated its positive bias on the sector, with a buy advice on both stocks. The Sino-British bank reiterated that it saw signs of increases in sales in the United States.

Vivendi took a breath, falling 3.9% after jumping 41.7% the day before, when the group split from Canal+, Havas and Louis Hachette Group.

On other markets, the euro is stable against the dollar at 1.0507 dollars. Oil is falling sharply. The February contract on North Sea Brent fell 1.5% to $72.83 per barrel while that of January on WTI listed in New York fell 2.2% to $69.12 per barrel.