CAC40: crosses 7400 pts in the wake of Wall Street

(CercleFinance.com) - The Paris Bourse ended the session up 0.
48% at 7407 points, buoyed by Bouygues (+3.1%), Safran (+3%) and Publicis (+2.9%).

The markets are now hanging on the results of the US election, the first indications of which should reach us tomorrow morning.

The outcome of the vote is likely to be extremely indecisive, so much so that the Democratic headquarters believe that the final result may not be known for several days.

On Tuesday, the US indices gained strength after a cautious start to the session: +1.1% on the Nasdaq, 0.9% on the S&P500 and +0.7% on the Dow Jones.

Christopher Dembik, Investment Strategy Advisor at Pictet AM, points out that several polls seem to indicate that the electoral momentum is on the Democratic candidate's side.

Nevertheless, "nothing is certain, and we are not immune to a surprise on Wednesday morning", he moderates.
Many investors fear an abrupt market reaction - for example, if the gap between the two candidates is marginal, which could lead to numerous legal disputes and delay the proclamation of the winner's name", he continues.

Wall Street is not moved by the fact that the trade deficit widened by almost +20% to -$84.4 billion in September (compared with -$70.8 billion the previous month).
According to the Commerce Department, this spectacular deterioration is the result of both a 1.2% drop in US exports of goods and services, to $267.9 billion, and a 3% increase in imports, to $352.3 billion.

On the activity front, growth in the US private sector accelerated slightly less than initially estimated in October, according to the S&P Global composite PMI, which came in at 54.1 on balance, compared with 54.3 in the flash estimate, and after 54 for the previous month.

The US services PMI - calculated by S&P Global - eased slightly in October to 55 from 55.2 the previous month, but remained well above the 50 mark that marks the boundary between expansion and contraction in the sector's activity.

S&P Global thus observed sustained growth in activity and new business, while employment continued to fall marginally and producer prices saw their weakest rise in almost four and a half years.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) index, published separately, reported accelerating growth in the US non-manufacturing sector, coming in at 56 for the past month, compared with 54.9 in September.

The index thus reflects continued solid growth in the private sector, albeit with a third consecutive month of job cuts, while price inflation hit a 53-month low.

There were also figures from Europe: on Tuesday, traders took note of French industrial production: it fell over one month (-0.8% after +1.4% in August) in both manufacturing and industry as a whole (-0.9% after +1.1%), according to Insee's CVS-CJO data.

On the interest-rate front, with 48 hours to go before the FED meeting, US T-Bonds are down +5pts to 4.36% and the 2-year to 4.21%.

In Europe, Bunds are down +3.5pts to 2.42%, and OATs only +3pts to 3.16%.

In the Paris stock market, Bouygues reported growth of almost 6% in recurring operating income (ROCA) for the first nine months of 2024, an improvement largely driven by its subsidiary Equans.

Michelin today announced to the 1,254 employees of its Cholet and Vannes plants its intention to cease production, at the latest by early 2026. These two plants have been facing major economic difficulties for several years.

Atos announces that it has signed a sale agreement with Alten for the sale of its Worldgrid business, which provides consulting and engineering services to energy and utility companies, for an enterprise value of 270 million euros.

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