Paris (AFP)

The Paris Bourse was up sharply by 0.91% Friday after its ebb the day before pending the monthly publication on US employment in the early afternoon.

At 12:30 p.m. (10:30 a.m. GMT), the CAC 40 index rose 45.34 points to 5,054.86 points.

The day before, it had fallen by 0.44% after a slide at the end of the session, under the effect of the fall of Wall Street.

"The mood is relatively optimistic considering the big sales in the United States last night," commented David Madden, analyst at CMC Markets.

The US Nasdaq technology index fell sharply, losing nearly 5% at the end of Thursday.

In futures contracts it continued its corrective movement on Friday, falling 0.26%.

On the other hand, the two other indices which suffered strong declines rebounded: the flagship Dow Jones index took up 0.69% and the extended S&P 500 index 0.39%.

- Air pocket -

"At this stage, the probability is great that it is only a soft spot and not the beginning of a downtrend", explains Tangi Le Liboux, analyst of the broker Aurel BGC.

The specialist points to both the absence of a catalyst to explain the turnaround and the "relative serenity of other financial centers".

Asian stock markets fell only around 1% while their European counterparts are all in the green on Friday.

The trend could change with the release of US employment figures scheduled for 2:30 p.m. (12:30 p.m. GMT).

This monthly meeting will make it possible to gauge more precisely the strength of the US recovery.

Analysts are forecasting an unemployment rate of 9.8%, down from 10.2% in July.

"A strong jobs report would give more weight to the argument for continued economic recovery," said David Madden.

But even a disappointing figure "could put pressure on elected Republican Congressmen to find a compromise with the Democrats on the stimulus plan", always hoped by the brokers.

In terms of values, the companies most sensitive to the economic situation, and the most penalized by the crisis, returned to the front of the CAC 40.

This was the case for banks, with Societe Generale which climbed 4.76% to 13.58 euros, followed by BNP (+ 3.85% to 37.54 euros).

The automobile industry progressed with Renault, which rose 5.06% to 24.59 euros, as did the hotel industry with Accor, which rose 4.34% to 27.38 euros.

Suez gained 1.18% to 15.15 euros, despite the obstacles encountered by the proposal to buy Veolia from Engie.

The president of Engie Jean-Pierre Clamadieu assured that "the account is not there" in the transmitted offer.

On the other side of the index, Pernod Ricard lost 1.65% to 143.30 euros, suffering from a drop in the recommendation to "neutral" according to Citi analysts.

© 2020 AFP