The Paris Bourse closed largely unchanged around 7535, following a minor recovery in bond markets. U.S. indices saw slight improvements, particularly the Dow Jones and Nasdaq-100. Bond yields increased, while earnings reports from companies like Lockheed Martin and 3M are anticipated. Eurofins Scientific and Interparfums reported sales growth, with Wendel announcing a partnership to acquire Monroe Capital. Gold prices hit a record high, and the dollar strengthened against the euro.
The Paris stock market closed with stability, hovering around the 7535 mark, following a minimal surge in the bond markets—a welcome change after a week of volatility. Earlier in the day, T-Bond yields had soared above 4.20%, while OAT rates were firmly set above 3.00%, peaking at 3.075%.
By 1 PM, there was a slight recovery, allowing investors to breathe a bit easier. In New York, U.S. indices showed signs of recovery as well, with the Dow Jones improving from -0.8% to -0.2%, the S&P 500 at -0.2%, and the Nasdaq-100 stabilizing, bolstered by Nvidia reaching a new high at $144, garnering substantial market capitalization compared to Apple.
While the uptick in bond yields is encouraging, it’s important to note that despite long-term yields rebounding nearly 50 points since late September, Wall Street has maintained its pursuit of record highs, even amid recent fluctuations.
The yield on the ‘2034’ T-Bond increased to 4.225%, with the ’30-year’ bond exceeding 4.520%, reflecting a rise of +60 points since September 17 and +45 points since the start of October—the highest yield noted since July 25.
Michael Brown, a senior research strategist at Pepperstone, commented on the aggressive sell-off of Treasuries across the spectrum, amidst a backdrop of weakening equities and a surging dollar. He also highlighted that the pace of earnings announcements is set to accelerate, with significant reports expected from defense leaders Lockheed Martin and RTX, along with the classic indicator, 3M.
Expectations are high that the robust earnings trend witnessed so far will persist, with the S&P 500 positioned for its fifth consecutive quarter of year-over-year earnings growth.
It’s worth mentioning that there are no major economic figures scheduled for release that could clarify the recent rate tightness.
In bond market movements, OATs dipped slightly by +3.8 points at 3.049%, while Bunds remained under pressure, increasing by +3.15 points at 2.311%, marking the highest yield since September 2 or July 29 of the previous year.
On the foreign exchange front, the Dollar saw a modest rise of 0.1%, pushing the Euro closer to the 1.0800 threshold.
In commodity news, gold reached a remarkable price of $2,743 per ounce (up by $3 from Monday), while silver is priced at $34.65 per ounce, and oil in London witnessed a recovery of +1.3%, now at $75.
Turning to corporate news from Paris, Eurofins Scientific announced a 6.7% increase in sales for the first nine months of 2024, totaling €5.14 billion, which includes a solid organic growth rate of 5.2% when excluding revenues related to Covid-19.
Interparfums reported third-quarter 2024 revenues of €257.6 million, reflecting a 20% rise (or +20.2% adjusted for constant exchange rates) compared to the same period last year, driven by the continued strong performance of its flagship brands.
Wendel announced its definitive agreement to acquire a 75% stake in Monroe Capital, a move that significantly boosts its asset management platform and enhances its growth trajectory and recurring cash yield.