Paris (AFP)

The Paris Stock Exchange continued to advance (+ 0.40%) Wednesday morning, after having already made significant progress the day before, reassured by the measures taken by the Chinese authorities despite fears still alive around the coronavirus.

At 9.40 a.m., the CAC 40 index rose by 23.48 points to 5,958.53 points. The day before, it had finished clearly in the green (+ 1.76%).

"It is certain that the economic impact will not be neutral on the main contributor to global growth, but the markets are evolving more and more in their own reality, that where central banks act or promise to act at the slightest sign of slowdown ", noted in a note Tangi Le Liboux, a strategist from the broker Aurel BGC.

In the hope of reassuring the markets, the Chinese Central Bank has notably injected billions of cash in the past two days. And Beijing has continued to take very strict containment measures in an attempt to limit the spread of the virus.

At least 490 people with the new 2019-nCoV coronavirus have died in mainland China (excluding Hong Kong and Macao), most in Wuhan and Hubei province, according to an official report on Wednesday. More than 24,000 cases of contamination have been confirmed in the country.

Containment measures are also gaining momentum across China. After the de facto quarantine of Wuhan and central Hubei province, a growing number of cities in eastern China - including the economic metropolis of Hangzhou - are imposing travel restrictions on their residents.

Activity in services in China slowed in January for the second consecutive month, while the period is usually marked by increased consumption before the Lunar New Year, according to an independent index released Wednesday.

This same indicator will also be published in the euro zone (PMI) and in the United States (ISM).

On the value front, Aperam jumped 8.56% to 29.31 euros, galvanized by an adjusted gross operating surplus (Ebitda) above expectations in the fourth quarter of 2019, even if its net profit was almost halved over the year.

Vinci rose 2.30% to 104.55 euros, driven by an increase in its net profit and revenues in 2019, thanks in particular to the arrival of new airports in its portfolio, he announced on Wednesday, moderating however his optimism for 2020.

L'Oréal for its part gleaned from 0.08% to 261.70 euros after announcing on Tuesday that it had entered into negotiations to sell its Roger & Gallet brand to the investment holding company of entrepreneur Jacques Veyrat, for an undisclosed amount .

BNP Paribas fell 0.28% to 49.15 euros despite a net profit of 8.17 billion euros last year, up 8.6%, mainly thanks to its international financial services and its bank financing and investment (BFI).

© 2020 AFP