AFP, published Wednesday 11 January 2023 at 19:20
Paris stocks rallied 0.80% on Wednesday, the sixth increase in eight sessions in 2023, in an upbeat environment ahead of December US inflation data expected on Thursday.
The top CAC 40 index rose 55.05 points to 6,924.19 points the day after profit-taking that had sent it down 0.55%. The Paris rating is thus approaching the 7,000-point threshold, which has not been exceeded since mid-February 2022.
For Alexandre Baradez, an analyst at IG France, there is a part of “mimicry” and “fear of losing the + rally +”, the rising wave of stock market indices, in the trend observed since the beginning of the year.
Easing inflation and China’s reopening of the economy have supported markets since the start of the year. European indices are also benefiting from the mild climate and falling gas prices, adds Alexandre Hezez, strategist at the Richelieu group.
However, “the themes of China, the fall in energy prices and the slowdown in inflation” have already been priced into the markets at the end of the year and “there has been no significant improvement since the beginning of the year”, recalls Alexandre Baradez, who therefore he’s not entirely convinced of the merits of the current jump.
Investors are eagerly awaiting the US December CPI inflation gauge, due out on Thursday, to confirm the slowdown.
Analysts expect prices to stagnate for a month and slow for a year to 6.5%, which they believe would allay fears of further monetary tightening by the US central bank (Fed).
In France, market participants may be clinging to good news, with the Banque de France indicating on Wednesday that the French economy has continued to hold up and is expected to stabilize in January, following slight growth at the end of 2022. .
The market capitalization of French luxury giant LVMH hit €389 billion on Wednesday, an all-time high above its latest peak in January 2022. First company in the CAC 40, the company is also Europe’s largest market capitalization and is one of the fifteen largest in the world.
LVMH also announced on Wednesday the appointment of Delphine Arnault, daughter of Bernard Arnault, as CEO of Christian Dior, while Pietro Beccari, who held this position, will take the helm of Louis Vuitton, the world’s leading luxury brand.
The stock gains 2.12% to €772.30, a record also for the stock.
In its wake, Hermès rose by 0.87% to 1,620.50 euros and Kering by 3.64% to 543.40 euros.
Shares of Ehpad Orpea group jumped 14.30% to 8.65 euros on Wednesday and is up 40% since the beginning of the year. This rise was mainly fueled by speculation on the entry into the capital of the Caisse des dépôts.
On Tuesday, the director general of the Caisse des Dépôts (CDC) Eric Lombard confirmed before the finance committee of the National Assembly that “discussions were underway”.
According to the newspaper Les Echos, the CDC would be ready, in collaboration with institutional investors, to provide “at least the majority of the billion and a half euros hoped for by the Ehpad group” for the bailout.
In 2022, shares of the group plunged 93% after the publication of an investigative book accusing the company of mistreating its residents.