The Paris Bourse ended the session close to equilibrium following US inflation figures and on the eve of the ECB meeting. The CAC40 index traded at around 8045 points, down 0.05%.
After the procrastination of the last few days, the second half of the week is busy, with several important dates on the agenda, in particular the US consumer price figures released early this afternoon.
According to the Labor Department, the US consumer price index rose by 3.5% in March compared with the same month in 2023, an annual rate 0.3 points higher than in February, and in line with Jefferies\’ expectations.
Excluding energy (+2.1%) and food (+2.2%), two traditionally volatile categories, the annual inflation rate held steady at 3.8% last month, again in line with Jefferies\’ estimate.
The economists\’ consensus expected core CPI inflation to slow to 3.7% year-on-year in March, from 3.8% in February.
The statistic is particularly closely watched by the Federal Reserve and should help determine when it will start cutting rates, a prospect that has largely contributed to the rise in equity markets this year.
In this context, the vigorous indicators recently published across the Atlantic have been freshly welcomed by investors worried that the central bank will postpone the start of its monetary easing.
The trend is still bullish, but the market is lacking a bit of drive\”, admits Christopher Dembik, Investment Strategy Advisor at Pictet AM.
The markets seem to be counting less and less on a rate cut in June, and now favor the scenario of a first reduction in the cost of money in the third quarter, i.e. in July at the earliest.
The US inflation figures will be followed tomorrow by the ECB\’s monetary policy announcements, which are unlikely to lead to any concrete decisions until there is clearer evidence that the disinflation process is continuing.
Other US inflation indicators on the weekend\’s menu include industrial producer prices, due tomorrow, followed by import prices on Friday.
Investors will also be watching the kick-off to the US corporate earnings season, which will be given as usual on Friday by the major banking groups JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup.
According to analysts, any positive surprises would be likely to spur a recovery in equity markets, which have been lagging somewhat since the end of March after a hot start to the year.
On the stock front, RBC on Wednesday renewed its \’outperform\’ rating and €192 price target on Airbus shares, following the announcement of the aircraft manufacturer\’s latest delivery figures.
Stifel reaffirms its \’buy\’ recommendation on bioMérieux, while raising its target price from 110 to 124 euros, in the wake of an update to its EPS estimates (+2.5% for 2024, but -0.7% for 2025).
While reiterating its \’neutral\’ opinion on Hermès \’in view of expectations on the value\’, Oddo BHF is raising its price target from 2145 to 2249 euros to reflect updated market parameters.
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