The Paris Stock Exchange is showing positive momentum this Friday, benefiting from a surge in optimism and increased risk appetite among investors. This follows the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate cut announced on Wednesday. Around 10:00 AM Paris time, the CAC 40 index had climbed by 0.54%, adding 44.02 points, to stand at 8,129.78 points. The previous day, the benchmark index closed up 0.79% at 8,085.76 points.
Optimism Extends to European and Wall Street Markets
“The optimism observed in the markets” after the Fed’s rate cut “has continued (…), setting up Europe and Wall Street for a positive day to close the week,” commented Kyle Rodda, an analyst at Capital.com. The Fed concluded its last meeting of the year on Wednesday by cutting its key interest rates by a quarter of a point, marking the third consecutive reduction. This move brings the rates into a range of 3.50% to 3.75%.
Fed’s Decision Perceived as Less Restrictive
This rate cut was “finally perceived as less ‘hawkish’ (i.e., restrictive in monetary policy jargon) than expected,” noted Ipek Ozkardeskaya, an analyst at Swissquote. Some analysts believe that the comments made by the institution’s chairman, Jerome Powell, were more accommodating than initially anticipated. “The majority of Fed members still believe that employment risks outweigh inflation risks at the end of the year, which implies a bias to cut rates further,” stated Xavier Chapard, strategist at LBPAM.
Wendel Sees Green with Ambitious Cash Generation Plan
The investment company Wendel announced on Friday, during its “investor day,” that it plans to generate 7 billion euros in cash by 2030 and “return” 1.6 billion euros to shareholders. To achieve this, the company intends to pay dividends and also cancel or repurchase a significant number of shares (equivalent to 3.8% and 9% of its capital, respectively) in 2026. This news was well-received by investors, with Wendel’s share price surging by 6.86% to 82.55 euros around 10:00 AM in Paris.
Eutelsat Completes Capital Increase Amidst Market Volatility
European satellite operator Eutelsat announced on Friday the finalization of its capital increase of approximately 1.5 billion euros, with a final tranche of 670 million euros. This move aims to fuel its growth and compete with US-based Starlink. This latest tranche follows an initial 828 million euro tranche, finalized at the end of November, as part of the 1.5 billion euro capital increase presented in June. Around 10:00 AM on the Paris Stock Exchange, Eutelsat’s share price was down 6.60% at 1.95 euros, after having dropped by more than 8% in early trading on Friday.
Source: https://fr.tradingview.com/news/afp:f9af45516b90d:0/
