The Paris Bourse ended the session close to its high for the day, at 7,695 points (+0.83%), well helped by Eurofins Scientific (+3.4%) and the banking sector, with +2.5% for Société Générale, +2.2 for Crédit Agricole, and +1.9% for BNP Paribas.

Reassured by projections giving no possible majority to the populist parties, the Paris market has gained nearly 3% since the start of the week.

Volumes remain very limited, with less than 2.5 billion euros traded since the opening, a level which is not at all unusual in the absence of Wall Street, closed for Independence Day.

The London Stock Exchange (+0.8%) does not seem to be worried about the change of majority that is looming at the end of the legislative elections, with a heavy anticipated defeat for the Conservatives (in power for 14 years) and their leader Rishi Sunak.

Labour leader Keir Starmer is likely to succeed him tomorrow - if Charles III validates his nomination, as tradition dictates.

Today's trading session will end calmly, with the VIX index close to its historic lows (below 12, the zone of complacency and unlimited appetite for risk), testifying to the markets' enormous confidence on the eve of the eagerly-awaited monthly employment report in the USA.

Florian Ielpo, Head of Macroeconomic Research at Lombard Odier Investment Managers, explains: "The macroeconomic situation remains complex at present, and the data provide uncertain information as to the next phase of the current cycle.

"Once confidence has been established, whether on the upside or the downside, the markets will be able to choose their own direction", says the analyst.

As far as a rate cut in mid-September is concerned, this scenario is favored by 72% of operators, and the consensus rises to 84 for a second cut in December.

Published on Wednesday evening, the minutes of the Fed's latest monetary policy meeting showed that inflation remained a major source of concern for the central bank, which cited the term 73 times in its document.

The only statistic on the day's menu, German industrial orders fell by -1.6%, whereas a rebound from +0.5% to +0.6% was expected in May.
No impact on the Bund, nor on the yield spread between the OAT (3.28%) and the 10-year Bund (2.58%), which fell back to 70 basis points.

On the oil front, Brent crude gained +0.5% to $87.5 in London.
With just a few days to go before the second round of parliamentary elections, Morgan Stanley strategists believe that now is a good time to buy French equities, according to a note published on Thursday.

The American investment bank points out that French stocks are still trading at rock-bottom levels following the results of the European elections and the announcement of the dissolution.

From the New York firm's point of view, the two most likely scenarios - i.e. the absence of a clear majority or the victory of the RN - will in any case be followed by a rebound in French stocks and European stock markets as a whole.

In French company news, Dassault Systèmes announced a unique long-term partnership in the agri-food industry with Groupe Bel, with a view to accelerating the sector's digital transformation and the development of pioneering innovations.

Technip Energies announced on Thursday that it had been selected as part of a research and development (R&D) program aimed at accelerating the industrial development of floating offshore wind power in France.

Stellantis announced on Thursday that it would be strengthening its twenty-year collaboration with the French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA) to develop new next-generation battery cell technologies.

Finally, Schlumberger (SLB) announced the signing of a contract by TotalEnergies with its OneSubsea TM joint venture for a 13-well subsea production system, including associated equipment and services, as part of the development of the Kaminho project, offshore Angola.


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