Paris (AFP)

The Paris Stock Exchange jumped 2.40% Wednesday in mid-session, taking advantage, like the main European stock markets, of records reached on Wall Street the day before.

Around 1:00 p.m. (11:00 a.m. GMT), the Paris index gained 118 points to 5,056.84 points.

Paris "follows Wall Street which continues to set records", observes to AFP Valentin Bulle, manager for Dôm Finance.

Paris was not the only place in Europe to be electrified by the current euphoria on Wall Street: London gained 1.55%, Frankfurt 2.25% and Milan 2.16%.

These places "have been inspired" by the American Stock Exchange since the opening, indicates Stephen Innes, chief strategist for AxiCorp, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices having reached new records thanks to the stars of the tech on the other side of the Atlantic, Apple and Zoom on your mind.

Again on Wednesday, futures contracts on Wall Street suggested a strong advance at the opening, the Dow Jones taking 0.68%, the Nasdaq 0.93% and the S&P 500 0.65%.

- Euro -

In addition to the American effect, European markets could benefit from a decline in the euro against the dollar Wednesday after touching Tuesday a level unprecedented for more than two years, above 1.20 dollar.

A euro considered too high against the dollar handicaps the exporting industries of the Old Continent to the benefit of those who sell their products in greenbacks.

It is precisely this sharp drop in the dollar against the euro in recent months that explains the collection of records on Wall Street, in the opinion of Valentin Bulle, at a time when European stock indexes are struggling to approach their levels of 'before pandemic.

Excluding the currency effect, the progression on Wall Street is much more measured against European markets, he recalls.

This decline in the US currency is encouraged by the extremely accommodating action of the US central bank (Fed) since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The president of the New York branch, John Williams, is due to speak on this topic on Wednesday.

Market players will also scrutinize an ADP survey on private employment in the United States.

Among the values ​​of the day, Pernod Ricard took 2.72% to 145.30 euros.

The spirits giant saw its net profit fall by 77% in the staggered 2019/20 fiscal year, to 329 million euros, due to a depreciation of the vodka brand Absolut linked to the health crisis.

BioMérieux lost 0.08% to 124.90 euros.

The laboratory specializing in medical tests published strong growth results for the first half of the year, boosted by its Covid-19 screening tests, on Wednesday, and expects this effect to continue in the second half.

Vallourec plunged 9.36% to 27.44 euros.

The manufacturer of seamless tubes, very affected by the fall in oil prices, announced Tuesday the continuation of discussions with all of its creditors, banks and bonds, "with a view to achieving a financial restructuring" of its loans.

© 2020 AFP