Paris (AFP)

The Paris Bourse again moved closer to the 6,000 point threshold on Wednesday, thanks to optimism about an imminent economic recovery and US inflation figures which allayed fears in the bond market.

The CAC 40 index advanced 65.58 points (+ 1.11%), its third consecutive session in the green, to finish at 5,990.55 points, the highest since February 21, 2020.

"The current trend is really that when there is good news, the market rises, and when it is bad, it does not fall", summarizes after AFP Daniel Larrouturou, equity manager at Dôm Finance.

The good news of the day, in this case, came from US inflation: at 0.4% in February over one month, it was in line with expectations, allowing a lull in the government bond market.

This remains the largest increase since August, driven by rising gasoline prices, but the market had braced for such numbers.

Over one year, inflation stands at 1.7%.

While the US Congress is expected to adopt on Wednesday the colossal stimulus plan wanted by Joe Biden to get out of the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, some economists warn of the risk of an acceleration in inflation.

This fear, especially in the United States, materialized in recent weeks by strong tensions on sovereign bond yields.

Since Tuesday, however, they have stabilized on both sides of the Atlantic.

The European Central Bank (ECB), whose monetary policy meeting is scheduled for Thursday, should "maintain a very accommodating tone and possibly talk about the risks of inflation to say that the latter is under control and that even if it rose again, the BCE would be vigilant ", analyzes Mr. Larrouturou.

In terms of indicators, the rise in producer prices in China was recorded in February at its highest level since November 2018, a new sign of post-Covid recovery in the industry.

In France, the news was also reassuring with the 3.3% rebound in industrial production over one month in January, after the decline in November and December due to the second confinement.

"All the so-called growth stocks, which had been a little neglected the previous days, are rising sharply thanks to the lull on rates", like luxury securities, underlines Mr. Larrouturou.

Kering gained 2.63% to 577.40 euros, LVMH 2.27% to 553.00 euros and Hermès 1.76% to 925.20 euros.

Alstom lost 0.49% to 42.86 euros.

Bouygues (+ 0.89% to 35.08 euros) announced the sale of half of its stake in the railway manufacturer for more than 500 million euros, to keep only 3.12% of the capital.

The Maisons du Monde title finished at the bottom of the SBF 120 (-5.75% to 17.53 euros), sanctioned by a net loss of 16.1 million euros in 2020.

© 2021 AFP