The Paris Bourse is expected to continue the rebound that began on Tuesday, in the wake of new Wall Street records encouraged by the hope of an economic recovery. The latest indicators for US employment have certainly prompted economists to revise their estimates for the official figures to be released this afternoon by the Labor Department, but the revisions are so strong that a pleasant surprise cannot be ruled out.
The consensus established by Bloomberg expects 50,000 job creations in December, against 73,000 a few days ago and 245,000 in November. The unemployment rate is expected to have increased 0.1 percentage point to 6.8% of the labor force. Statistics are scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
Records on Wall Street and in Asia
The contracts futures US indices are still progressing after the new records set the day before, the Nasdaq Composite having crossed the 13,000 point barrier at the close for the first time in its history. The Dow Jones Transportation Index, seen as an indicator of economic activity, also peaked in anticipation of fiscal support measures and investment from the Biden administration, despite riots in Washington Wednesday. These events were subsequently condemned by Donald Trump, who pledged to an orderly transition of power. Several politicians, including Nancy Pelosi, have called for the impeachment of the outgoing president.
Asian markets follow suit on Friday, with the MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan index hitting a new all-time high, while the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Nikkei 225 hits a nearly 30-year high. In Seoul, the Kospi, which also signs a record, has won nearly 4%, boosted by the soaring 19% of Hyundai Motor, which has announced that it is in talks with Apple to develop an autonomous electric car. Hyundai then backtracked, indicating that it had been approached by several companies for potential collaborations.
Market sentiment should also be supported by reports, relayed by CNBC, that a study indicated that the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is effective against highly contagious variants of the coronavirus that have appeared in the UK and in South Africa.
STMicroelectronics and luxury in sight
STMicroeletronics announced that it achieved higher than expected sales in the fourth quarter of 2020, due in particular to sustained demand for its products for the automotive sector. Revenue totaled $ 3.24 billion in the period in preliminary data, up 21.3% sequentially.
LVMH, Dry and Hermes could take advantage of Washington’s decision to suspend the implementation of additional tariffs on French luxury goods. This threat had been wielded in reaction to the French government’s plan to tax the digital giants.
Sodexo announced that it had raised its operating margin forecast for its first half of 2020-2021 thanks to a better than expected performance in the first quarter in terms of cost control and contract negotiation.
Trigano reported 29% revenue growth in the first quarter of its 2020-2021 fiscal year, with the leisure vehicle manufacturer continuing to benefit from a catch-up phenomenon after the fall in activity experienced in the spring during the first confinement.
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