CAC40: at 7,700, DAX and SP100 at their zenith with the '3 Witches

(CercleFinance.com) - What a way to end the month of January: the weekly gain flirted with +4% on the CAC40 (around 7,720pts)!

What a conclusion to this "3 Witches" session, with the CAC40 adding +1.
2% on the heels of its 2.1% surge, driven by Stellantis (+4%) and Teleperformance (+2.5%).
The month of January ended this Friday with a record +6%... compared with +1% for the US indices (the S&P was at zero on Thursday evening) since December 20, 2024 ('4 witches').
Wall Street greeted this '3 witches' session with a gain of +0.8% on the Dow Jones, +1.4% on the Nasdaq, and the S&P500 climbed to within touching distance of 6,000pts for the symbol.
Note that the DAX40 and FT100 - against the backdrop of a negative economic climate - set all-time records at nearly 21,000 and 8,500pts respectively.
Note that all speculative assets have been soaring for the past 48 hours, particularly cryptos, with BTC at $104,500 versus $90.000 at the beginning of the week... and which has been literally rocketing higher since 3.00 pm.

As a reminder, yesterday's gains were based on the surge in the luxury goods sector, supported by Richemont's encouraging publication, but also by the lower-than-expected figures for US consumer prices in December, which the previous day had reinforced expectations of further rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Today, the CAC40 is benefiting from the Bayrou government's non-censure, which rules out a new sequence of political turbulence.

On the "macro" front, US industrial production rose by 0.9% in December according to the Fed (more than expected), after a modest +0.1% in November.
The Fed points out that 'higher aircraft and parts production contributed 0.2 percentage points to this growth following the resolution of a work stoppage at a major aircraft manufacturer (i.e. Boeing)'.

Also according to the Federal Reserve, the capacity utilization rate in US industry improved by 0.6 points to 77.6% in December, a level still 2.1 points below its long-term average (1972-2023)

the Commerce Department reports a 15.8% jump in US housing starts in December 2024 compared with the previous month, to an annualized rate of 1,499,000.

U.S. building permits - which are supposed to be a precursor of future housing starts - fell by 0.7% to 1,483,000 last month. Lastly, housing completions fell by 4.8% to
This morning, investors learned the final figures for December consumer prices in the Eurozone (at 11:00 a.m.).

According to Eurostat's preliminary estimate, inflation rebounded from 2.2% to 2.4% last month, mainly due to base effects affecting energy prices, which should not worry the ECB too much.

On the earnings front, the only major publication of the day will come from US oil services group SLB (Schlumberger) at mid-day.

However, investors may be tempted to sit on the sidelines in anticipation of Donald Trump's official inauguration as the 47th President of the United States, scheduled for Monday.

Investors, who initially welcomed the New York businessman's promises to cut taxes and deregulate the economy, seem to want to wait for the new administration's first steps before really positioning themselves.

If the new president's desired measures are designed to further increase the power of the New World, the side effects of higher tariffs, the mass deportation of immigrant workers and drastic cuts in public spending could put a crimp in the well-oiled machinery of the American economy", warn the teams at La Financière de l'Echiquier (LFDE).

On the government bond market, the US ten-year yield balanced out at 4.595% (down 20 basis points on the week), moving away from the peak of over 4.80% reached at the start of the week.

The German equivalent eased by -3pts to 2.4920%, while French OAT yields fell by -4pts to 3.298%, reducing the spread between the two countries' government bonds to 80.5 basis points.

Oil, whose surge has been one of the highlights of the early part of the year, remains close to its highest levels since last summer.

Brent crude is virtually stable at around $81 a barrel (-0.3%), while the euro is holding steady at around $1.0300.

In French company news, Renault Group announces the signature of an agreement for the creation of a joint venture between Mobilize, its brand dedicated to new mobilities, and NW, 'the French leader in electricity storage and the first French unicorn in the energy transition'

Crédit Agricole Personal Finance & Mobility, already a 50% shareholder in Sline, announces the acquisition of the entire capital of this fintech offering a rental solution for e-merchants and merchants.

Quadient announces that 'a leading US provider of integrated cloud solutions for human capital and payroll management', has selected its Quadient Inspire customer communications management (CCM) platform.

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