Paris, London and Frankfurt are up more than one percent. Zurich and Milan are up 0.5%.
–
European markets regained momentum Thursday, rising oil prices and easing borrowing rates in the eurozone allowing them to cancel their losses from the previous day, despite macroeconomic statistics still very badly oriented.
The Parisian flagship index, the CAC 40, gained 1.54%.
On the other European places, London rose by 1.40%, Frankfurt by 1.44%, Madrid by 0.89% and Milan by 0.50%. In Zurich, the SMI gained 0.48%.
“This is a session which is a bit like the mirror of the day before, where we recover what we have lost” on Wednesday, summed up with AFP Alexandre Neuvy, head of private management at Amplegest.
“For the past few weeks, there have been two catalysts that need to be monitored and that make sense of the market: oil and sovereign rates in Europe,” he added. “Today, oil is picking up and rates are easing in Europe” after going up on Wednesday, which sends a “positive signal for the equity markets”.
Yields on government bonds in the eurozone started falling again on Thursday, allowing the spread between the ten-year borrowing rate of Italy and that of Germany, which refers , to slightly reduce, to 246 points.
More generally, “we feel that there is a little less nervousness and that these prospects of deconfinement are still good news,” said Mr. Neuvy.
On the statistics side, China announced Thursday a surprise rebound in its exports in April over a year (+ 3.5%) despite the coronavirus pandemic. Imports have collapsed, however.
In Europe and the United States, the latest data released was less encouraging.
Industrial production fell sharply in March over a month in Germany (-9.2%), a dark record since 1991, and even more in France (-16.2%).
In the United States, productivity fell sharply over the same period compared to the last quarter of 2019, reflecting the cessation of activity that occurred suddenly in mid-March.
In addition, more than three million people registered for the first time unemployed last week across the Atlantic, the total number of unemployed workers receiving unemployment benefits having reached their highest level in history.
The Bank of England (BoE) predicts a historic 14% drop in UK gross domestic product this year. At the same time, it kept its key rate at 0.1%, a record of weakness.
“The macroeconomic figures are not good, but that is not a surprise. We know that the period is complicated and not very legible, ”notes Mr. Neuvy.
The air manhandled
On the securities front, ArcelorMittal took the lead in the CAC 40 (+ 6.77% to 10.21 euros) after improving its operational performance, even if it recorded a net loss of $ 1.1 billion in first quarter, penalized by the slowdown in demand.
Air France-KLM fell 2.52% to 4.10 euros, penalized by a net loss of 1.8 billion euros in the first quarter and gloomy forecasts for the summer.
On the other side of the Channel, IAG lost 3.15% to 190.45 pence. The airline group fell into the red in the first quarter, hit hard by the crisis of the new coronavirus which has grounded almost all of its planes.
Overseas, Lufthansa managed to take 0.46% to 7.86 euros after announcing Thursday negotiate with the German state a rescue plan “9 billion euros”, which could include a partial nationalization of the group for save him from bankruptcy.
–
