The star CAC 40 index fell 33.68 points to 7,234.25 points. The day before, the Parisian rating had ended in decline but closed the month of February up 2.62%.
The stock market had yet spent most of the session in the green thanks to a clear upturn in manufacturing activity in China in February, a strong sign of the rebound of the world’s second largest economy.
But following France and Spain, it was Germany’s turn to report inflation figures that displeased investors.
The harmonized price index, which serves as a benchmark for the European Central Bank (ECB), rose 9.3% in Germany in February year on year, as analysts polled by Bloomberg expected inflation to be 9 %.
Added to the acceleration in prices seen in France (+6.2%) and Spain (+6.1%), inflation in the euro zone, expected on Thursday, may also rebound in February.
In response, bond rates rose. Around 5:00 p.m. GMT, the French 10-year rate was worth 3.18% and that of Germany 2.71%. They are moving respectively to a high since January 2012 and since July 2011.
“The possibility that the European Central Bank will have to go further in its monetary tightening has increased,” said Charlotte de Montpellier, economist at ING.
Europe is on track to avoid a recession at the start of the year but there is a risk that inflation will persist “if activity is stronger than expected”, she adds.
Eurofins severely sanctioned
Eurofins experienced the largest drop in the CAC 40 with a fall of 12.12% to 58 euros, following announcing 2022 net profit down 22.6% to 606 million euros.
Neoen fui
Shares in French renewable energy producer Neoen fell 13.91% to 29.41 euros, despite a 10% rise in net profit in 2022.
Investors did not like the outlook deemed too cautious and the issue of 750 million euros of new shares to finance more activities in photovoltaics and wind power, according to the financial news agency Bloomberg.
BNP Paribas declines
The Belgian state will reduce by regarding a third its stake in the French banking group BNP Paribas, of which it was the largest shareholder with 7.8% of the capital, a Belgian government source told AFP on Tuesday evening.
The action of the bank lost 4.16% to 63.40 euros.
Interparfums attire
The Interparfums group (+5.56% to 66.50 euros) announced Tuesday evening the “best performance in its history” in 2022 with a net profit up 40% compared to 2021.
