Published on : 30/08/2022 – 18:40Modified : 30/08/2022 – 18:38
Paris (AFP) – The Paris Stock Exchange experienced another day of decline on Tuesday (-0.19%), the seventh in eight sessions, its rebound in session having run out of steam in the last exchanges with the fear that the central banks strike hard to fight against inflation.
The star CAC 40 index fell 12.06 points to 6,210.22 points, after having already fallen by 0.83% on Monday and 1.68% on Friday.
“We are still on the digestion of the rise of the summer” with now “structural pressures” downward on the indices, estimates Jacques-Aurélien Marcireau, co-head of equity management at Edmond de Rothschild AM.
The president of the American central bank (Fed), Jerome Powell, had clearly indicated at the end of last week that he was ready to take the necessary measures to attenuate the rise in prices, even if they affected the economy.
Despite this strong focus, “some investors expect rate cuts” around 2023, according to Mr. Marcireau, who also underlines the period of uncertainty that investors are going through: “In terms of importance for growth, is it better to follow gas stocks in Europe, the Chinese real estate market, inflation in the United States?
The day’s indicators were able to confirm the Fed’s desire to act with all the more determination. The job market in the United States, one of its main barometers, remains resilient. The number of job vacancies in July, a sign of a tight labor market, surprised analysts on the upside, according to the Labor Department’s Jolts report released on Tuesday. The monthly employment report is due Friday.
“It’s a classic case of good news being bad news for equities,” said Michael Hewson of CMC Markets.
Consumer confidence in the United States also improved more than expected.
In the euro zone, inflation in August is on the program until Wednesday. The rise in prices accelerated, as expected, in Germany, before the publication of figures for France or the euro zone on Wednesday.
The European Central Bank (ECB) is meeting next week, and investors are wondering whether it will raise rates even more than at the last meeting, when they jumped 0.50 percentage points.
Banks in the front
The banking sector, which can take advantage of the context of rising rates, except in the event of a marked deterioration in economic activity, finished at the top of the CAC 40 table.
BNP Paribas took 1.38% to 46.39 euros, Societe Generale 1.36% to 22.07 euros and Crédit Agricole 1.16% to 9.22 euros.
TotalEnergies weighed down by falling oil prices
TotalEnergies posted the biggest drop in the CAC 40 (-3.62% to 52.43 euros), while oil prices fell by more than 5% at the close of the Paris market, due to fears of recession.
© 2022 AFP