The CAC 40 rallied on Thursday, ending the session in the green. After two difficult sessions, the Paris stock market index put aside its fears about US tariffs. It focused on satisfactory corporate news.
Market trend
After two sessions in the red, when the CAC 40 even had its worst session since the summer of 2023, the Paris Bourse closed in the green on Thursday. The markets put aside, at least temporarily, their concerns about Donald Trump’s protectionist agenda, which could penalize the European economy. Investors wanted to bounce back, and were able to draw on sufficiently good news to recoup some of the week’s losses.
In particular, the French index was able to count on Kering, which benefited from the announcements made by the UK’s Burberry, to climb the stock market. The two luxury groups are the most penalized in the sector. They are now moving in the same direction to raise their brands while refocusing on their core businesses. Behind them, Alstom and Scor reassured investors, and US events were not surprising enough to turn the tide.
Indexes in France and around the world
| CAC 40 | + 1,32% | 7,311.80 points |
| SBF 120 | + 1,34% | 5,548.40 points |
| DAX | + 1,37% | 19,258.34 points |
| FTSE 100 | + 0,51% | 8,072.29 points |
| Nikkei | – 0,48% | 38,535.70 points |
| Dow Jones* | – 0,02% | 43,947.68 points |
| Nasdaq* | – 0,15% | 19,201.94 points |
| *index closed at the close of European stock markets | ||
Fact of the day
The day’s gains on the Paris Bourse can also be explained by the slowdown in the US markets. Investors, who had all rushed to the New York Stock Exchange since Trump’s election, decided to curb their rally a little. This situation is explained in particular by the publication of the PPI index. With the dollar and long bond yields still high, the rebound in producer prices is complicating the equation for the US Federal Reserve (Fed).
On Thursday, the Commerce Department announced that the wholesale price index rose by 2.4%, compared with 1.9% in September. This indicator, which measures producer inflation, confirms the rise in consumer inflation published the previous day. While the Fed had decided to prioritize the containment of unemployment, the stagnation of inflation figures serves as a reminder that the 2% target has not yet been fully achieved.
Nevertheless, CME Group’s FedWatch monitoring tool shows that the consensus is still for a further 25bp cut in December (around 75%). The next releases of the consumer and producer price indices will therefore be particularly eagerly awaited. They will be released just before the next Fed meeting.
Stocks in focus
The Top
Alstom For a long time, Alstom and Scor alternated at the top of the SBF 120 index, but in the end, it was the rail manufacturer that ended up with the biggest gain (+12.16%). After long months at rock bottom, which led to financial restructuring, the French group announced this Wednesday evening a 29.6% increase in its order book for the first half of 2024/2025.
In particular, it has benefited from a major €3.6 billion contract for the German city of Cologne’s S-Bahn (suburban rail) network. Alstom can also count on a large number of European orders (80% of its business), with the decarbonization of transport and the increasing prioritization of rail transport by decision-makers on the Old Continent.
In other announcements, the company reported a 3.9% increase in sales for the half-year. It also succeeded in limiting its cash consumption to 138 million euros, whereas analysts were expecting a consensus of 370 million euros. In a note, the Swiss bank UBS considers these results to be “solid”. : “We believe that the first-half publication was a clear step towards building a track record of predictability and ‘promise and delivery’ from Alstom’s management.”
The Flop
Casino failed to convince investors with the presentation of its new strategy plan “Renewal 2028”. The supermarket specialist saw its share price fall by 17.80% on the Paris Bourse, the second biggest drop on the SBF 120. In particular, the French group announced its ambition to return to financial equilibrium by 2026, but above all to invest around 1.2 billion euros over the next four years to reorganize its supermarket network.
The aim of this strategic plan is to achieve sales of 15 billion euros by 2028, with average annual growth of 3.7% between now and then. Last year, the Saint-Etienne-based retailer faced the prospect of insolvency. The takeover by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky saved the company’s fortunes, thanks to an extensive restructuring program.
With the separation of many stores, the group’s new strategy is to rely on franchises or smaller stores. Since 2022, Casino has already sold 425 stores and launched a redundancy plan which, according to the unions, should affect 3,000 jobs.
Number of the day
798 million euros
On Thursday, the European Commission imposed a fine of 798 million euros on Meta (the Facebook group) for anti-competitive practices. The Commission believes that the American group linked its online advertising service with its social network, Facebook, imposing “unfair” conditions on its competitors. This is the seventh largest fine in the history of the European Union, having already imposed heavy fines on Google, Apple and Intel.
Friday November 15 agenda
The week concludes with macroeconomic statistics. In France, Insee will publish inflation figures for October, while the Fed will unveil industrial production for the same month in the United States. The European Commission is also scheduled to present its economic outlook for 2024 and 2025. Investors will also be able to dissect Vallourec’s quarterly results.