The Paris Stock Exchange continues to set records on Friday, exceeding 7,500 points, benefiting from the health of luxury companies and the hope of a more flexible policy from central banks in the coming months. The star CAC 40 index rose 21.85 points to 7,502.68 points around 9:25 a.m., on its way to a fifth consecutive session of increases and after a peak at 7,507.79 points shortly after the opening. On Thursday, it had gained 1.13%, driven by the increase in LVMH sales in the first quarter of 2023.
Over the week, it advanced by 2.45%, a fourth weekly gain in a row. The Paris Stock Exchange is doing better than its European counterparts thanks to the weight within it of luxury companies, whose growth is still impressive. In line with LVMH, Hermès unveiled a jump in sales of 22% over the first three months of the year.
Beyond the results of companies which are only just beginning in Paris and elsewhere in the world, “this risk-taking” by investors “is partly based on the good resistance of the economy so far” but also “on the hope that inflation will slow rapidly and that the American Central Bank will come to the rescue of the economy in the second half of the year”, describe the analysts at Banque Postale AM.
On Thursday, the US PPI producer price index for March showed wholesale prices fell 0.5% on the month and investors are hoping that this trend will soon filter through to consumer prices. But these expectations seem “still too optimistic”, nuance the Banque Postale AM.
In France, inflation reached 5.7% in March over one year, driven by soaring food prices, its main driver, according to a final estimate revised slightly higher on Friday by INSEE.
The French luxury group Hermès announced on Friday that it had achieved 3.4 billion euros in sales in the first quarter, an increase of 22% over one year, thanks to all its businesses and in all geographical areas, after a year 2022. record.
The results confirm “Hermès’ ability to overcome adverse demand trends better than others, taking advantage of its high brand desirability and waiting lists,” writes Bernstein analyst Luca Solca. The action took 1.16% to 1,968 euros, that of Kering 0.88% to 573.70 euros and LVMH 0.78% to 891 euros.
After having already lost more than 5% on Thursday, Alstom fell another 5.80% to 21.29 euros, suffering the effects of a lowering of Deutsche Bank’s recommendation for it. The bank mentions “the new uncertainties” after the departure of the financial director Laurent Martinez.