Paris (AFP)

The Paris Bourse ended perfectly stable (+ 0.00%) on Tuesday, catching its breath the day after a strong increase, in a market still prone to risk but wondering about the sharp upturn in borrowing rates in recent years. days.

The flagship CAC 40 index grabbed 0.28 points to 5,786.53 points, after increasing 1.45% the day before and reached its highest level at the close since February 26, 2020.

This Tuesday we observed a market "without a big trend" despite the return of American investors after a long weekend, according to AFP Alexandre Baradez, head of market analysis at IG France.

"What has dampened the desire to go higher a little is the recovery of rates in Europe as in the United States," he notes, leading some to wonder if the American Central Bank (Fed ) would not be late in its communication in relation to a recovery in the economy.

"A ten-year rate which is recovering is really the translation that the market makes better projections of inflation and growth than a few months ago," he explains, although it is still "very light signals", he said.

With corporate results generally well received, a positive evolution of the vaccine dossier, prospects for a recovery in the United States and unwavering support from central banks and governments alike, the context was indeed still favorable. to risky assets.

On the macroeconomic side, manufacturing activity in the New York region has regained some strength after several months of slowdown, and has exceeded analysts' expectations, according to the Empire State monthly indicator.

The morale of German investors saw a further boost in February, according to the ZEW barometer.

In France, the unemployment rate fell sharply at the end of the year, apparently returning to its pre-crisis level, but this fall is "partly a sham" according to INSEE, due to a statistical bias and the still massive use of partial activity.

The acceleration of vaccination campaigns also gave hope for an imminent lifting of the restrictions weighing on European economies, while Johnson & Johnson filed on Tuesday an authorization request for its vaccine against Covid-19 in the European Union.

The latter wants to organize itself in the face of mutations in the new coronavirus, which could require modified versions of current vaccines, the Commission said on Tuesday, on the eve of the launch of a European program to study these variants, called "Hera incubator ".

TechnipFMC suffers, effective split

The action of the petroleum engineering group finished at the bottom of the SBF 120 (-6.79% to 6.76 euros), while Technip Energies, resulting from its split, jumped 41% to 12.70 euros in first day of its listing.

Vivendi ebbs after a surge

The title, which flew on Monday, fell 1.70% to 30.69 euros, suffering from a drop in Citigroup's recommendation to "neutral" against "buy".

Bolloré share lost 2.31% to 4.06 euros.

Michelin increases its dividend

Michelin, which has withstood the health crisis in 2020 and plans a return to normal for 2022, took 0.17% to 117.90 euros.

The group will propose a dividend of 2.30 euros per share, i.e. more than the 2 euros distributed over the previous year, and more than the amount forecast by analysts for 2021.

© 2021 AFP