The Paris Stock Exchange closed up 1.1% at 7876 points, driven by gains from major companies like Airbus and L’Oréal. While Wall Street also saw increases, investors are cautious ahead of Trump’s forthcoming tariff announcements. Eurozone manufacturing indicators show moderate recovery, yet the U.S. sector is slowing down. Interest rates declined, benefiting gold prices, while corporate activity in France includes Eiffage’s acquisition of HSM Offshore Energy and Alstom’s contract extension at JFK.
Paris Stock Exchange Experiences a Positive Session
The Paris Stock Exchange closed today’s session with a notable gain of 1.1%, reaching 7876 points. This uptick was largely fueled by strong performances from major companies such as Airbus, which rose by 3.2%, L’Oréal with a 3% increase, and Schneider Electric, which saw a 2.4% rise. However, despite this rebound, the market still falls short of recovering the 1.6% decline experienced the previous day.
Global Market Insights and Economic Indicators
Across the Atlantic, Wall Street mirrored this positive sentiment, with the Dow Jones climbing by 0.2%, the S&P 500 increasing by 0.4%, and the Nasdaq rising by 0.8%. Investors are navigating through a landscape of uncertainty as Donald Trump is anticipated to unveil new tariffs tomorrow on nations that impose tariffs on U.S. companies and maintain a trade surplus with the United States.
Adding to the apprehension regarding trade policies are concerns about the overall economic climate. This morning’s preliminary PMIs for the eurozone were highly anticipated. The HCOB PMI for the eurozone manufacturing sector, produced by S&P Global, improved from 47.6 in February to 48.6 in March, marking its third consecutive month of recovery and indicating only a moderate contraction—the weakest since January 2023.
Despite a continued decline in new orders, manufacturers reported an uptick in activity for the first time in two years, with growth at the end of the first quarter being the strongest since May 2022.
In France, the HCOB PMI index for the manufacturing sector also showed improvement, rising from 45.8 in February to 48.5 in March, reflecting a moderate contraction in the industry, the least severe in the current downturn that has persisted for 26 months.
Inflation in the eurozone decreased slightly to 2.2% in March, down from 2.3% in February, according to a preliminary estimate from Eurostat. Within this context, services are projected to experience the highest annual rate in March at 3.4%, down from 3.7% in February, followed by food, alcohol, and tobacco at 2.9%, non-energy industrial goods at 0.6%, and energy at -0.7%.
In the United States, the growth of the manufacturing sector is showing signs of a sharp slowdown in March, with S&P Global’s PMI index falling to 50.2 in its preliminary estimate for the month, compared to 52.7 in February. Conversely, China’s manufacturing sector is witnessing accelerated growth, further confirming the economic recovery in the region, as indicated by official data. The PMI for Chinese manufacturing increased to 50.5 in March, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous month, marking its highest level since March 2024.
April begins on a strong note for interest rates, with a significant drop of 9.5 points on T-Bonds to around 4.15%, the lowest level recorded. In Europe, Bunds decreased by 6 points to 2.670%, French OATs dropped by 5.8 points to 3.39%, and Italian BTPs fell by 8 points to 3.78%. The decline in interest rates typically benefits precious metals, with gold reaching a new all-time high of $3,149, reflecting an annual increase of over 20%. The Euro dipped by 0.2% against the U.S. dollar, trading at $1.08, while oil prices remained stable at approximately $74.8 per barrel.
On the corporate front in France, Eiffage announced an agreement through its Belgian subsidiary Smulders to acquire HSM Offshore Energy, a provider of integrated engineering, construction, and installation solutions for offshore wind projects. Alstom has confirmed a contract extension with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) to continue providing operations and maintenance services for the AirTrain at JFK International Airport. Additionally, Eurofins Scientific has successfully completed the acquisition of Synlab’s clinical diagnostics operations in Spain, transitioning these activities to the French bio-analysis services group as of March 31. Finally, Oddo BHF has reiterated its ‘outperform’ rating and a price target of 35 euros for Bureau Veritas, forecasting a strong start to the year driven by three divisions exhibiting double-digit growth.