Paris (AFP)

The Paris Bourse remained frozen at equilibrium (-0.01%) Thursday morning, having to digest a series of results and fears of a slippage in inflation in the United States.

Around 9:35 am, the flagship CAC 40 index crumbled by 0.83 points to 5,765.01 points the day after a decline of 0.36%.

Fears of a resurgence of inflation in the United States were reflected this week in the rise in bond yields.

The latest rise in bond interest rates "for the moment keeps the markets in suspense and fuels a certain wait-and-see attitude," Saxo Bank analysis.

"A rapid and uncontrolled rise in rates could have consequences on the accommodating policies in place and disrupt the quiet course of the equity markets," adds the bank.

The US Federal Reserve (Fed) assured Wednesday that it would keep its rates very low to support the economy until full employment returns and continue to flood the markets with liquidity through monthly asset buybacks to the tune of 120 billion of dollars.

"It is not, however, certain that this is sufficient to put an end to the fears of the financial markets concerning a surge in inflation which would force the central bank to react urgently via a rate hike", believes Christopher Dembik, associate director at Berenberg.

Especially since the latest US figures showing a jump in retail sales and rising producer prices are reviving inflation expectations.

And they "fuel the debate on the unnecessarily massive size of the Biden plan", forecast at 1.900 billion dollars, observes Tangi le Liboux, analyst at Aurel BGC.

The air on land

The title of aircraft manufacturer Airbus fell 3.07% to 91.03 euros after a net loss of 1.1 billion euros in 2020.

The Air France-KLM share fell by 0.94% to 4.75 euros, the group having lost 7.1 billion euros last year, an "unprecedented" shock caused by the Covid-19.

Same punishment for the ADP title (-0.93% to 95.90 euros): the group suffered a net loss of 1.17 billion euros in 2020 under the effect of Covid-19, which cut its traffic 60% passengers.

Red for Orange

Orange shares fell 3.59% to 63.86 euros.

The group, which has announced the creation of its European "TowerCo", a structure intended "to enhance" its mobile network infrastructures, anticipates in 2021 a "stable negative" gross operating surplus after rents (EbtidaaL).

Cheers for Carrefour, Plastic Omnium and Capgemini

Carrefour rose 0.92% to 14.86 euros, the group congratulating itself on the "dynamism" of its sales and its "profitability" despite a net income group share down 43% in 2020 to 641 million euros .

The stock of the equipment supplier Plastic Omnium (+ 3.39% to 32.96 euros) benefited from the anticipation for 2021 of a "strong rebound" not quantified in its turnover and an operating margin of 6%, comparable to that of 2019. The group will propose a dividend of 0.49 euros per share, the same as for the 2019 financial year.

Capgemini gained 2.10% to 138.35 euros after limiting the impact of the health crisis in 2020, recording a net profit up 12% while its turnover is expected to grow at constant exchange rates between 7 and 9% in 2021.

EDF suffers from the crisis

EDF fell by 1.04% to 10.48 euros.

The group saw its net profit fall by 87% in 2020, under the effect of the crisis and non-recurring elements, also suffering from an unfavorable basis of comparison after a year 2019 inflated by the performance of the financial markets.

© 2021 AFP