(News Bulletin 247) – The Paris Stock Exchange is seeing red for its first session of 2025. The CAC 40 is trading below 7,300 points on Thursday at mid-session, shaken by disappointing economic statistics in both China and France.

It’s a feverish start to 2025 on the Paris Stock Exchange, which is falling sharply this Thursday at midday. The CAC 40, which was slightly in the green at the start of the session, now falls by 1.2%, to return below 7,300 points to 7,294.74 points. After having already lost 2.15% over the whole of 2024, the flagship Parisian index is upset by the announcement of a deterioration in manufacturing activity in France last month.

The final HCOB PMI index for the manufacturing sector in France stood at 41.9 in December, after 43.1 in November. This is its lowest level since May 2020. Remember that the threshold of 50 marks the border between expansion and contraction of activity.

“The French industrial crisis is worsening. The manufacturing PMI once again sent negative signals in December,” notes Tariq Kamal Chaudhry, economist at the Hamburg Commercial Bank.

Luxury values ​​are struggling

A little earlier in the day, operators had learned of a disappointing statistic in China, also on the manufacturing activity front. The manufacturing PMI index calculated by Caixin/S&P Global actually contracted by one point in December, to 50.5 points compared to 51.5 points in November. The Chinese markets welcomed today’s statistics, the Chinese benchmark index CSI 300, which brings together shares listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen, fell by 2.9% this Thursday to 3,820.40 points, and recorded its worst start to the year since 2016, according to Bloomberg.

Luxury stocks, very exposed to Chinese demand, are leading the biggest declines in the CAC 40, which supports the declines in the flagship Parisian index. Hermes gives back 3%, Kering gives up 2.9% while LVMH stumbles by 2.3%.

In this first session of the year 2025, however, a few securities stand out on the Paris Stock Exchange. Airbus leads the Paris index, gaining 2%, supported by a positive rating from Bank of America, which renews its purchase recommendation, expecting strong deliveries in December.

The European aeronautical group is followed by Engie (+1.2%) and Totalenergies (+0.4%), which is benefiting from a rebound in oil prices.

The price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea, for delivery in March, rose 1.4% to $75.66, while its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery in February, also recovered. 1.4% to $72.71. On the SBF 120, Viridien (ex-CGG) gained 5.4%, Esso appreciated by 3.9% while Vallourec gained 1.3% and Technip Energies 0.4% this Thursday.

On the foreign exchange market, the euro is down 0.3% at 1.0326 dollars, the lowest in more than two years after the publication of sluggish manufacturing activity in the euro zone in December.