CAC40: end of week in green, loses 1% over the week

(CercleFinance.com) - The Paris Bourse closed the final session of the week with a gain of 1.
13%, at 8028 points, driven by Thales (+5.6%), Airbus (+4.3%) and L'Oréal (+3.4%).

However, the Parisian index remains held back by Kering, which dropped almost 11% following the announcement of the arrival of its new artistic director, Demna, a defector from Balanciaga, an appointment that leaves the markets skeptical.

Over the past week, the CAC has finally lost 1%.

Note the clear upturn in the US indices after 11 sessions out of a series of 16. The Dow Jones gained 1.3% behind the S&P500 (+1.7%) and the Nasdaq (+2.1%).

Wall Street takes a breather as the risk of a shutdown of the US federal administration appears to have been averted.

A transparent agreement has been reached by the House, and the document still has to be approved by the Senate before midnight tonight.

A compromise appears to be in sight: Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he planned to vote for the Republican bill rather than risk another government shutdown.

Wall Street is digesting -as if nothing had happened- the plunge in the University of Michigan's consumer confidence index, from 64.7 to 57.9 in March, according to the University of Michigan's preliminary estimate. This represents a drop of 10.5% over one month and 27.1% over one year.
Analysts were expecting a more moderate decline, from -2.5Pt to 63.2, according to the consensus published by MarketWatch.

'Expectations for the future deteriorated in several areas, including personal finance, the labor market, inflation, the business environment and the stock markets', it is reported.

Many consumers cited the high level of uncertainty surrounding politics and other economic factors', it added.
Consensus forecasts a further fall in household sentiment, with the index forecast at 63 compared with 64.7 in January.

Despite this, T-Bonds are down +3.5pts to 4.311%, Bunds +2.8pts to 2.8820%, and our OATs +2.5pts to 2.5700% (the spread is narrowing to +69pts).

The publication of rather reassuring inflation data on Wednesday and Thursday should have been a reason for easing rates, but the slowdown in CPI and PPI figures was quickly ignored, as investors expected inflationary pressures to intensify under the impact of tariffs (including a 200% surcharge on European wines, champagnes and spirits).

On the eurozone statistics front, year-on-year consumer prices in France rose by 0.8% in February, after +1.7% in January, taking the year-on-year figure below 1% for the first time since February 2021, according to Insee, which confirmed its provisional estimate.

Across the Rhine, the rise in Germany's consumer price index harmonized to European standards (HICP) was revised downwards to 2.6% for February, compared with 2.8% at first reading, the Federal Statistical Office announced on Friday.

Traders have also resumed buying gold: the spot price has risen to $3,004 (before easing to $2,985), the April contract has risen to $3,017/Oz, and silver is close to $34.5/Oz.

The geopolitical climate could improve as the USA/Ukraine/Russia talks progress, but the trajectory of gold does not seem to take into account the signing of an imminent peace agreement.

On the FOREX, the Euro recovered the 0.2% lost the previous day to $1.088.

In French company news, Interparfums announces an extension of its partnership with Coach for a further five years, taking the license to June 30, 2031.

Rubis reports net income (group share) of 342 million euros for 2024, within the target range of 340 to 375 million, down 4% on a comparable basis, including 83 million euros in net capital gains from the sale of Rubis Terminal.

Airbus Helicopters reports that it closed the 2025 VERTICON show in Dallas with commitments for 118 helicopters, including 63 firm orders, from customers worldwide for a variety of its multi-mission helicopters.

Airbus also reports that AEGEAN, Greece's largest airline, has placed an order for eight additional A321neo aircraft, which will enable it to further develop its networks and support its expansion plan.

Thales announces the delivery of the first autonomous maritime demining system to the Royal Navy.

Finally, Engie announces that it has today finalized its agreement with the Belgian government on the 10-year extension of the Tihange 3 and Doel 4 nuclear reactors and the transfer of responsibility for nuclear waste.


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