The Paris Bourse reverses yesterday’s trend with a bullish opening that held up over time. The stock market is showing itself to be more enterprising as it awaits economic indicators from Europe and the United States. However, markets remain concerned about the potential economic consequences of Donald Trump’s return to the US presidency.

At around 12:30 pm, the CAC 40 was up 0.95%, or 68.29 points, at 7,285.12. On Wednesday, it lost 10.15 points (-0.14%) to 7,216.83. So far this week, the index has recorded losses of over 1%.

ECB “minutes” on the agenda, but the USA still omnipresent

The markets are awaiting the minutes of the latest monetary policy meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB). In the morning, the second estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) in the eurozone showed that it rose by 0.4% in the third quarter.

On the agenda for the US session, investors should turn their attention to Thursday’s PPI Producer Price Index for October at 2.30pm. “This PPI index contains elements that feed into the PCE inflation index.”Ipek Ozkardeskaya, an analyst at Swissquote Bank, comments: “This PPI index contains elements that feed into the PCE inflation index, which is reputed to be the one most favored by the US central bank (Fed) for gauging price trends in the United States.

In addition, the president of the US central bank, the Fed, is scheduled to speak. Trump’s return to power leaves the markets full of uncertainty. His program, perceived as inflationary and likely to widen the budget deficit of the world’s leading economic power, leaves investors thinking that the Fed will not be able to cut interest rates as much as they would like next year. This context is strengthening the dollar against other currencies. At around 12:30 pm, the US currency was up 0.54% against the common European currency, at $1.0507 to the euro, at levels not seen for over a year.

LVMH continues to modify its organizational chart

LVMH, the French luxury goods giant, has announced a number of management appointments, including Cécile Cabanis as Chief Financial Officer to replace Jean-Jacques Guiony, who on February 1, 2025 will take over as head of the important division “Wines and Spirits” division. Alexandre Arnault, one of CEO Bernard Arnault’s sons, was also appointed Deputy Managing Director of this division on “MH” from LVMH, says the company in a press release.

These appointments, marked by a rejuvenation and “internal promotionsare added to a number of changes in the governance of the world’s number one luxury brand. Like its competitors, the world’s number one luxury brand has been hit by the global slowdown in demand, and saw its third-quarter sales fall by 4.4% to 19 billion euros, following a previous decline in first-half sales. At around 12 noon, the share price was up 1.27%. Since January 1, the Group’s share price has fallen by more than 20%.

Thalès with little movement

Buoyed by its financial success over the past five years, French high-tech group Thalès is counting on an increase in profitability of up to 14% by 2028, according to forecasts unveiled at its Investor Day on Thursday. On the stock market, the share price remained unaffected, dropping 0.58%.

Alstom hailed, Scor soars

Alstom’s order book jumped by 29.6% year-on-year in the first half of its offbeat financial year, thanks to a giant contract in Germany, and the company posted a sharp rise in net profit (group share) to 53 million euros. The French rail manufacturer, which claims to be surfing on a buoyant market – particularly in Europe – but wishes to prioritize profitability over volumes, announced on Wednesday that it had completed its debt reduction process over the period, including a major disposal, and confirmed its full financial outlook. At around 12 noon, the share price was up 8.45%.

Reinsurer Scor reported a net loss of 117 million euros in the third quarter, but announced that it had restored the profitability of its troubled life and health business on a lasting basis, an announcement welcomed by the markets. “We did the right thing. The last few months have been difficult for Scor and our employees, but now we are moving on. The underlying performance of our business is in a very positive trend. With a solvency ratio of 203%, our balance sheet is in good shape.”said Thierry Léger, the company’s CEO, during a conference call. Scor shares are up 7.81%.