(News Bulletin 247) – The Parisian index finished slightly higher this Wednesday as the American central bank prepares to deliver its verdict on rates. Renault stood out, buoyed by hopes of a merger between Nissan and Honda.

The Paris Stock Exchange experienced a session marked by a wait-and-see attitude this Wednesday, December 18. The CAC 40 ended up 0.26% at 7,384.62 points.

The market has its sights set on the outcome of the meeting of the American Federal Reserve (Fed). The central bank will deliver its verdict on its key rates at 8 p.m., then its president, Jerome Powell, will speak. According to the CME Group’s Fedwatch tool, investors assign a 98.6% probability to a quarter percentage point rate cut.

But the issue lies elsewhere. “While the rate cut cycle started only a few months ago, it could already be paused at the beginning of 2025. Why? Because the main price indices in the United States have not made further progress towards the objective for several months and the American economy continues to display insolent health”, explains Alexandre Baradez, head of market analysis at IG France.

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With this in mind, investors will pay attention to the slightest clue that Jerome Powell could have in store for them for next year.

The monetary and economic projections of the members of the Fed (the “dots plots”), which will be communicated this Wednesday evening could also give some indications.

In terms of values, Renault finished at the top of the CAC 40 (+5.2%). The automaker benefited from information from Nikkei reporting that Nissan and Honda have discussed a merger.

This hypothetical operation would be favorable to Renault, because it would facilitate potential sales of Nissan shares of which Renault still holds a little less than 36%.

Vivendi gained 3.6%. This Wednesday, Barclays bank resumed coverage of the stock with an “overweight” opinion, equivalent to buying. The bank simply summarizes the situation: post-split into four companies, Vivendi is now an investment company whose 95% of the value resides in shareholdings in listed companies.

If Vivendi sells these stakes, its upside potential is significant (nearly 40%), whereas if it retains its stakes, its upside potential remains limited to 10%. Barclays leans towards the first possibility with a probability of 60%.

On the smaller capitalization side, Theranexus gained 32.4%, after announcing the extension of its financing horizon by one year. This announcement followed a licensing agreement with the Spanish group InsudPharma.

On other markets, the euro lost 0.2% against the dollar at 1.0471 dollars. Oil is rising a bit. The February contract on North Sea Brent rose 1.15% to $74.03 per barrel while the January contract on WTI listed in New York advanced 1.6% to $71.19 per barrel.