The CAC 40 played it cautious during Wednesday’s trading session, but ended up losing ground. U.S. inflation and Trump’s protectionist stance are still preventing the Paris Bourse from generating any upward momentum.
Market trend
The CAC 40 hoped for a rebound as the index hovered above equilibrium for a long timebut in the end, the U.S. context called it to order. This Wednesday, the Paris Bourse started the session timidly, in the green. Despite this resilience, with Donald Trump’s agenda and US inflation in its sights, the Paris stock market eventually gave in and fell back into the red.
The possible implementation of tariffs in the United States is still weighing on European companies, which could be penalized. China has also announced new measures to boost its real estate sectorbut still nothing to raise investors’ hopes. All that remained was US inflation to upset the rather gloomy market trend. Figures in line with expectations reassured analysts, but the stock markets did not react particularly well to the event. The CAC 40 saw a slight surge at the end of the session, but it was not enough to hope to close in the green.
Indexes in France and around the world
| CAC 40 | – 0,14% | 7,216.83 points |
| SBF 120 | – 0,16% | 5,475.26 points |
| DAX | – 0,16% | 18,977.09 points |
| FTSE 100 | – 0,06% | 8,030.33 points |
| Nikkei | – 1,66% | 38,721.66 points |
| Dow Jones* | + 0,40% | 44,084.48 points |
| Nasdaq* | – 0,23% | 19,237.45 points |
| *index closed at the close of European stock markets | ||
Fact of the day
US inflation came as no surprise, in line with analyst consensus expectations. The first inflation indicator after the election of Donald Trump, the Labor Department unveiled the CPI index on Wednesday. For the first time since March, inflation rose to 2.6%, up from 2.4% in September. The American institution points out that this 0.2% rise is due to housing and energy prices. Underlying inflation, which excludes energy and food prices, remained at 3.3%, the same as last month.
This new indicator reassured the markets. According to CME Group’s FedWatch tool82% of observers expect the US Federal Reserve (Fed) to cut rates again in December. This compares with 62% at the start of the morning. Despite this, Trump’s election could also thwart this momentum with a protectionist agenda that could bring inflation back with him. A fear shared by the American markets, but also by those on the Old Continent.
Stocks in focus
The Top
Nexans spent the session as one of the SBF 120’s leading performers, gaining 4.21%. Before devoting the day to investors in London, the French cable nugget unveiled its financial targets for 2028. The French group said on Wednesday that it expected Ebitda to rise by 350 million euros over this period.
The world’s second-largest cable manufacturer intends to take advantage of the strong momentum in its electrification business to consolidate its position: “This is the first time in the history of electricity that strong demand has come from both mature and developing countries”.says Nexans CEO Christopher Guérin. While the company was forecasting an Ebitda of 665 million euros in 2023, it anticipates a range between 750 million and 800 million euros for this year, but above all an Ebitda that would rise to 1.15 billion euros in 2028.
“Thanks to our business model and solid balance sheet, we are in a position to seize the opportunities available to us in our growth markets, and to sustainably improve the Group’s performance and cash generation.”announced the company’s CEO. The Group also announced that it intends to boost its growth with an investment of around 1.2 billion euros between 2025 and 2028.
The Flop
The backlash was fatal to STMicroelectronics. The Franco-Italian group was the only CAC 40 stock in the green yesterday, but today saw its share price fall the most on the index. The share lost 4.23% during the session. Like yesterday, the company followed the lead of its German counterpart Infineon Technologies. On the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the German group fell by over 4%, and its Franco-Italian competitor fell with it.
STMicroelectronics is going through a turbulent period, with demand for its chips falling sharply in the automotive and industrial sectors. Sales for AI are increasing, but the company is still too dependent on the other two sectors. The company has already lowered its targets for 2024 three times, and expects sales to fall sharply in the next six months. At the opening of Electronica in Munich on Tuesday, CEO Jean-Marc Chéry now believes that “we need to focus on the major challenges ahead, such as the electrification of the world and the decarbonization of industry and mobility. Creating supply chains from China for China or from the West for the West would be counterproductive.”
Quote of the day
“If I had to sum up the European roadmap, I’d say first of all that Europe needs to get its act together. And let’s stop blaming ourselves in the process. […] We have assets in Europe. It too must come together.
François Villeroy de Galhau, Governor of the Banque de France, has called on European countries to unite after the election of Donald Trump. Speaking to France Inter on Wednesday morning, he highlighted the Franco-German couple’s role in preventing the continent from remaining “on the sidelines of the global economic game”.
Thursday November 14 agenda
The session should be marked by the publication of the minutes of the monetary policy meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB). At a time when observers are increasingly divided over the next round of interest-rate cuts, the document could show the divergences within the institution. In the United States, the Producer Price Index (PPI) for October is expected to provide further indications on the US economy. In France, markets await Scor’s quarterly resultsbut above all the presentation of Casino’s new ambitions for 2028.
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