Good morning, everyone! Let’s delve into the recent activity in the Paris stock market. On Wednesday, the Paris stock exchange experienced a 0.29% decline during its first session of the year. Investors are anxiously awaiting updates on employment in the United States.
The CAC 40 index, Paris’s primary stock index, saw a decrease of 21.60 points, resting at 7,509.26 points around 09:35 am. During the previous session, the index closed with a 0.16% decrease, marking the end of the first session of the year.
Investors are closely monitoring the second half of the session for updates on economic activity in the United States. Specifically, they are eager for data on job vacancies, which indicate labor market tension. Additionally, new US industry (ISML indicator) data are expected around 4:00 pm Paris time. After the Paris market closes, the minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s recent meeting in mid-December will be revealed.
The market responded positively to the Federal Reserve’s more accommodating and optimistic tone than anticipated. The Federal Reserve lauded the significant slowdown in inflation and maintained interest rates between 5.25% and 5.50%.
According to John Plassard, an investment specialist for Mirabaud, investors are still in a “profit-taking mode”. The end of 2023 was particularly favorable for stock markets due to expectations of easing monetary policy by central banks early in 2024.
On the bond market, the interest rate for French 10-year bonds, the benchmark, increased to 2.63% from 2.59% at the previous day’s close.
Now, shifting to industry news, the technology company Atos, which carries a heavy debt load, announced preliminary discussions with Airbus regarding the potential sale of its big data and cybersecurity division. This has been confirmed by aerospace group Airbus.
Following a more than 11% surge in early trading, Atos’ stock experienced a 2.66% increase, reaching 7.18 euros around 09:30 am. Meanwhile, Airbus’ stock fell by 0.54% to 140.50 euros.
The next step for Atos and Airbus involves entering a “due diligence” phase, during which a comprehensive examination of the accounts will be conducted. Airbus has made an indicative offer valuing Atos’ entire Big Data & Security (BDS) division at an enterprise value of 1.5 to 1.8 billion euros.
Analysts at Jefferies noted that this valuation is slightly higher than the 1.3 billion euros previously mentioned for Airbus to acquire 29.9% of the capital of Eviden (cloud, cybersecurity, supercomputers), a deal that was abandoned at the beginning of 2023. Atos has also mentioned a second offer, without specifying the party, which could potentially be another CAC 40 company like Thales, according to Jefferies. Thales’ stock rose by 0.15% to 133.65 euros.
That’s all for now, everyone. Stay tuned for more updates on the Paris stock market and the latest developments in cybersecurity discussions between Atos and Airbus. Have a great day!
