CAC40: bullish sequence continues, close to 7500pts

(CercleFinance.com) - After jumping 2.
2% yesterday, the Paris stock market continued its upward momentum today, gaining 0.59% to 7,489 pts, marking one of the most impressive bullish sequences since mid-September.

The CAC40 thus cleared the 7,480 resistance level and is now close to 7,500 points, supported in particular by STMicro (+1.9%), LVMH (+1.5%) and Danone (+1.5%).

Wall Street, which will be closed on January 9 (a day of commemoration in honor of Jimmy Carter, who died at the age of 100), was mixed, with the Dow Jones stable, but -0.5% for the S&P500 and -1.2% for the Nasdaq.

On the statistics front, the eurozone's annual inflation rate is estimated at 2.4% in December 2024, up slightly on the 2.2% recorded in November, according to a flash estimate published this morning by Eurostat, the European Union's statistical office.

In terms of the main components of inflation in the eurozone, services should see the highest annual rate in December (4.0%, compared with 3.9% in November), followed by food, alcohol & tobacco (2.7%, stable compared with November), industrial goods excluding energy (0.5%, compared with 0.6% in November) and energy (0.1%, compared with -2.0% in November).

Furthermore, in November 2024, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in the Eurozone stood at 6.3%, stable compared with the rate recorded in October 2024 and down on the 6.5% rate recorded in November 2023.

The unemployment rate in the EU stood at 5.9% in November 2024, also stable compared with the rate recorded in October 2024 and down on the 6.1% rate recorded in November 2023.

Across the Atlantic, investors took note of the US trade deficit: it rose to $78.2 billion in November, compared with the previous month's $73.6 billion (which was slightly revised from an initial estimate of $73.8 billion), according to the Commerce Department.

This 6.2% month-on-month increase in the deficit resulted from a 3.4% surge in US imports of goods and services, to $351.6 billion, outstripping a 2.7% increase in exports, to $273.4 billion.

Another closely watched figure in the US is the growth in US service sector activity, which accelerated more than expected in December, shows the monthly Institute for Supply Management (ISM) survey released on Tuesday.

The ISM services index rose to 54.1 from 52.1 the previous month, while economists were on average expecting a figure of 53.5.
The indicator rose above the 50-point threshold, marking the 52nd time in 55 months that activity has grown since the recovery from the Covid epidemic that began in June 2020.

The sub-index measuring activity in the service sector climbed to 58.2 from 53.7 in November, while that for new contracts improved to 54.2 from 53.7 the previous month.

The employment sub-index eased to 51.4 from 51.5 in November, while prices paid accelerated to 64.4 from 58.2.

The euro reversed course against the greenback following the publication of the ISM: it fell from $1.042/E to $1.036/E, i.e. -0.2%.

On the oil markets, Brent crude prices climbed +1% to $77 a barrel.

In French company news, Spie announces the appointment of Evert Lemmen as Managing Director of Spie Nederland and, as such, as a member of the Group Executive Committee, effective February 1, 2025, succeeding Lieve Declercq.

EDF announces the success of its senior multi-tranche bond issue for a nominal amount of $1.9 billion, enabling it to finance its strategy and its objective of contributing to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

Finally, Sodexo is down nearly 8%, making it the red lantern on the SBF120, after announcing sales of 6.4 billion euros for its first quarter of fiscal 2025, missing the consensus by 2%.

Copyright (c) 2025 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.