The Paris Stock Exchange is preparing for a hesitant opening, with the key, a new burst of statistics, including the fall of 9.2% in German industrial production, and jobless claims in the United States. Sino-US trade tensions are also back in the news as Washington ponders sanctions against Beijing for handling the coronavirus crisis.
We will also have to reckon with the quarterlyArcelorMittal, Great and Air France-KLM, particularly exposed to the doldrums of the tourism industry in general, and the airline industry in particular.
Surprising increase in Chinese exports
Health crisis obliges, the financial centers can only make the big back vis-a-vis depressing macroeconomic indicators, with sometimes some surprises. This is particularly the case with the Chinese trade balance this morning and the 3.5% year-on-year growth in exports in April. Growth supported by renewed activity in Southeast Asia. This anomaly is nonetheless put into perspective by the new contraction, the third in a row, in the Caixin PMI services index last month at 44.4 points.
Edouard Philippe and deconfinement
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe will hold a press conference this afternoon during which he will present the broad outlines of the first phase of his plan for progressive deconfinement, which could begin next Monday.
The market has taken note of the expected decision by the Bank of England not to change its interest rates on Thursday. It also maintained the amount of its asset purchase program at £ 645 billion, including £ 20 billion for corporate bonds. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey will hold a press conference in the morning.
ArcelorMittal suspends its dividend
ArcelorMittal has suspended its dividend until further notice after recording a net loss of $ 1.1 billion in the first quarter due to the fall in industrial production in Europe. Gross operating surplus (Ebitda) fell to $ 967 million from $ 1.65 billion in the first quarter of 2019.
Great anticipates a sharp decline in activity in the second quarter of this year, due to containment measures linked to the health crisis of the new coronavirus. The distributor of electrical equipment also saw its net profit fall by 12.2% in the first quarter.
Air France-KLM has announced that it will present a new transformation plan this summer and that it expects negative Ebitda this year, while the group recorded a net loss of 1.8 billion euros in the first quarter, weighed down by the health crisis .
Natixis incurred a net loss of 204 million euros in the first quarter linked to a capital loss on the sale of its shares in the credit insurer Coface and increased its cost of risk to 193 million in order to meet in particular its exposure to the energy sector.
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