“Parisian index rises slightly with support from Alstom and Axa amidst US investor uncertainty”

(BFM Bourse) – The Parisian index lost its good momentum during the day as the United States woke up, and ended up very slightly (+0.05%), with the support of Alstom and from Axa.

As often the good trend of the morning did not resist the awakening of American investors. While evolving clearly in the green in the middle of the session, the CAC 40 finally ended close to balance (+0.05%) at 7418.21 points this first day of the week.

A disappointment on one of the few indicators on the menu for this session weighed on the trend. May’s Empire State Index, which measures manufacturing activity in the New York area, dipped to -31.8 from a -5 indicator expected by economists polled by the Wall Street Journal.

The market also continued to follow developments in the hot issue of the moment, namely the raising of the American debt ceiling, the subject of intense political negotiations between Republicans and Democrats. The leader of the Republicans in the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, is due to meet this week with President Joe Biden, who declared himself “optimistic” on Sunday.

Istanbul Stock Exchange weighed down by political uncertainty

“Janet Yellen still sees June 1 as the date on which the United States will no longer be able to finance the functioning of the State, if the debt ceiling is not raised”, recalls on this subject Vincent Boy, analyst at IG France.

More broadly, “many meetings are planned during the week […] and that could bring some volatility to the indices,” he continues, referring to six interventions by members of the European Central Bank (ECB) and 10 from those of the Federal Reserve (Fed).

Markets also scrutinized the Turkish presidential election. Although no candidate was declared the winner – a second round is scheduled for May 28 – outgoing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan emerged first in the first round with more than 49% of the vote, dampening market expectations. The Istanbul Stock Exchange suffered, ending down more than 6%.

“Erdogan’s victory [serait] synonymous with unconventional monetary policy, inflation and risk, all of which have been amply demonstrated over the past two years,” said Craig Erlam of Oanda.

Featured Alstom

As for values, the CAC 40 was driven by Alstom, which gained 5.2%, benefiting from confirmations of buy recommendations from JPMorgan and Oddo BHF.

Ax was the other engine of the CAC 40, with an increase of 2.4%, thanks to the publication of its quarterly results. While gross premiums turned out to be a little lower than expected, the “Solvency II” solvency ratio clearly exceeded expectations, which analysts welcome.

In other markets, theeuro takes 0.2% against the dollar at 1.0871 dollar. Oil prices are on the rise, the North Sea Brent contract is up 1.6% at 75.38 dollars a barrel while that on WTI listed in New York is up 1.7% at 71 $.22 a barrel.

Julien Marion – ©2023 BFM Bourse