Paris (AFP)

The Paris Bourse was on hold at midday, limiting risk taking while cautiously awaiting the outcome of the meeting of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy committee.

At 13:39 (11:39 GMT), the CAC 40 index fell by 8.10 points to 5,059.83 points.

The Parisian odds started unchanged before moving forward modestly and then returning to balance.

Its big European counterparts were showing the same caution, like Frankfurt (-0.03%) and London (-0.22%).

On Wall Street, futures contracts announced a small upward opening for its three main indices: the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+ 0.37%), S&P 500 (+ 0.40%) and the Nasdaq (+0.10 %).

No change in monetary policy is expected by market players who will focus on the Fed's projections for the world's largest economy until 2023 and on the press conference by US central bank boss Jerome Powell at 6.30 p.m. GMT.

"The Fed should confirm, if not further strengthen, its ultra-accommodating bias, but the probability of a disappointment from Jerome Powell in terms of outlook remains high," predicts Franklin Pichard, director of Kiplink Finance.

"While the continued accommodating tone of the Monetary Policy Committee (FOMC) is widely anticipated today, the question of how big the potential new stimulus will be is on everyone's mind." , emphasizes Pierre Veyret at ActivTrades.

For a month and a half, negotiations on new financial assistance from the federal government to get the US economy out of the crisis have been stalling in Congress.

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the global recession is expected to be less severe than expected in 2020 but the recovery in 2021 is expected to be weaker than anticipated in June.

REINFORCED TECHNOLOGIES

From Frankfurt with SAP (+ 1.09% to 136.76 euros) to Paris with Worldline (+ 2.74% to 78.08 euros) at the top of the CAC 40, the values ​​of technology were sought after.

AERONAUTICS MALMENEE

Stocks in the sector were on the other hand battered due to the increasing restrictions on gatherings and movements.

The Rolls-Royce engine manufacturer fell 6.3% to 190.50 pence, and IAG, parent company of British Airways, lost 3.22% to 129 pence.

Airbus dropped 0.42% to 69.19 euros.

BANKS LOSE BETWEEN 1% and 2%

European sovereign yields were on a downward trend, mechanically weighing on the banking sector.

In Paris, Societe Generale fell by 1.37% to 12.82 euros, BNP Paribas by 1.48% to 35.30 euros and Crédit Agricole by 1.43% to 8.40 euros.

In London, low inflation and the prospect of further quantitative easing from the Bank of England, whose interest rates are already historically low, were spilling over to HSBC (-2.09% to 316, 05 pence) and Barclays (-1.15% to 101.46 pence).

EMBELLISHED FOR LUXURY

The share of the Italian luxury house Salvatore Ferragamo climbed 7.54% to 13.12 euros on the Milan Stock Exchange, driven by the marked upturn in sales in China since July.

In Paris, Hermès and Kering each took more than 1.5%.

© 2020 AFP