Paris (AFP)

The Paris Stock Exchange ended Monday at its closing high for twelve years, continuing to advance (+ 0.13%) even without major indicator or volume in the run-up to Christmas.

The CAC 40 index gained 7.84 points to 6,029.37 points, in a low trading volume of 2.14 billion euros. On Friday, it finished up 0.82% sharply.

The market is both "in a lethargy at the end of the year" and "on a good roll for the start of the year," observes Guillaume Garabedian, manager of advised management at Meeschaert Gestion Privée, interviewed by AFP.

"In this very very calm period, it is not one or two bad statistics that would be enough to start the good mood on the markets" which welcomed the latest advances in trade policy, he added.

Orders for durable goods in the United States fell in November, while analysts expected an increase of 1.4%.

On the trade front, US President Donald Trump said Friday he had a "very good discussion" with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, a week after the announcement of an agreement in principle synonymous with a truce in the trade war between Washington and Beijing.

The Chinese government also announced on Monday a series of tariff cuts on a large number of technological or food products, including pork, while the country's livestock is facing an epidemic.

"The prospect of a Sino-US trade deal says there is a potential resumption of international trade, orders that are starting to return and fears about the future that are fading," said Garabedian. In addition, since macroeconomic statistics are "not in an extraordinary boom phase, one would think that there will be no prospect of an imminent rate hike" from central banks.

"We are rather on a positive trend which is likely to continue at the start of the year," he said. "If the market has no macroeconomic fear, no political stress and potentially earnings per share that will go up, there is no reason for the managers to sell."

The year ends with a breathtaking vintage for equities, with gains of almost 30% in Europe and the United States.

© 2019 AFP