(News Bulletin 247) – The Paris Stock Exchange closed slightly higher this Tuesday, January 14. The CAC 40 gained 0.2%, significantly reducing the lead it had acquired at midday. The rather lackluster start of the session for the American indices weighed on the Parisian market.

Between new press information on the trade policy of the Trump administration and the general policy discourse in France, the political-economic news was busy for the Paris Stock Exchange this Tuesday, January 14.

The CAC 40 closed slightly up 0.20% at 7,423.67 points, significantly reducing its initial gains

At midday, the CAC 40 gained more than 1.2%, moving within a hair of 7,500 points. The Parisian market was driven by information from Bloomberg. On Monday evening, the news agency reported that the Trump administration was considering phasing in tariff surcharges of 2% to 5% per month, rather than implementing them all at once.

This process would make it possible to avoid a peak in inflation and would give negotiating power to the United States, according to close sources cited by the agency. Bloomberg specifies that this project is only in the preliminary stages and that it has not been presented to Donald Trump.

Hopes for progressive customs taxes

A statistic on the inflation front was also better than expected. The producer price index, which measures inflation on the producer side, which increased by 3.3% over one year in December, much less than expected by the consensus which anticipated an increase of 3.5% in price last month. A positive signal before the publication on Wednesday of the consumer price index, the most widespread measure of inflation, in the United States for the month of December.

“If the report [sur les prix à la consommation] is too hot (i.e. positive, editor’s note), it could accelerate the selling pressure we have seen recently and weigh on stocks. On the other hand, a colder result than expected could give rise to some relief,” says Bret Kenwell, US markets analyst for eToro.

The Parisian market then moved downward almost in a straight line from 2:30 p.m. The CAC 40 may have been penalized by the poor dynamics of Wall Street. After opening higher, the S&P 500 fell and lost 0.3% shortly after the close of the Paris market.

Investors also paid attention to the general policy speech by Prime Minister François Bayrou to Parliament. The head of government revised downwards the growth forecast for French gross domestic product from 1.1% to 0.9% for 2025, due to uncertainty and the savings to be made. The public deficit target for 2025 is set at 5.4%, which is higher than the previous government’s forecast of 5%.

Michelin at the top of the CAC 40

On the value side, Michelin (+2.7%) and Société Générale (+2.3%) signed the two biggest increases in the CAC 40, these stocks being followed by BNP Paribas (+2%) to complete the podium. of this fence.

Safran rose 1.6%, supported by an increase in its recommendation to buy from Jefferies, which sees an interesting entry point with the decline in the stock that has occurred since the beginning of December.

Excluding the CAC 40, automotive equipment manufacturers, stocks that are very sensitive to trade tensions, performed well. Forvia gained 8.5%, Opmobility 7.1% and Valeo 5.5%.

On the small value side, MGI Digital Technology increased by 6.6% after announcing that it anticipated a clear improvement in its main financial indicators in 2024.

On other markets, the euro gained 0.2% against the dollar to 1.0291 dollars. Oil is falling. The March contract on North Sea Brent lost 1.15% to $80.08 per barrel while the February contract on WTI listed in New York also lost 1.15% to $78.41 per barrel.