The Paris Bourse closed down Thursday (-0.47%), following a session marked in particular by higher than expected retail sales figures in the United States and the presentation of the British budget.
The star CAC 40 index fell 31.10 points to 6,576.12 points. The day before, it had fallen by 0.52%, ending a series of four consecutive increases.
“The session was marked by the announcement in the United States of higher retail sales in October [que prévu]which raises questions regarding the future strategy of the American central bank”, which is waiting for signs of a slowdown in the economy to slow rate hikes, explained Grégory Bailly, financial investment expert at Milleis Banque.
Construction of new homes in October fell by 4.2% and building permit applications are also down by 2.4%, enough to rule out an improvement in the market in the immediate future.
Investors were also disappointed by the remarks of the president of the Fed of Saint-Louis (Missouri) on Thursday, doubting that the hikes in key rates so far have led them into “a sufficiently restrictive zone”.
The San Francisco Fed’s Mary Daly, meanwhile, warned that a hike in the overnight rate of another full percentage point would likely be needed, as it currently sits between 3.75% and 4%, also clearly ruling out a pause in monetary policy tightening for now.
“The presentation of the British budget, in a context where inflation has reached its highest level since 1981” also helped to pace the session, continues the analyst.
The UK is now in recession and its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will fall by 1.4% in 2023, UK Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt has announced, along with £55 billion in spending cuts and of tax increases.
The operator Bouygues Telecom, which recorded a turnover up 5% over one year during the first nine months of the 2022 financial year, to 5.531 billion euros and confirmed its objectives, nevertheless closed on a loss of 6.50% to 28.49 euros.
Renault took the lead in the CAC 40 at the close on Thursday, with an increase of 2.31% to 32.78 euros, the day following the announcement of the acceleration of its employee shareholding plan.
Euronext CAC40
