Paris (AFP)

The Paris Bourse was stable Thursday at midday (-0.04%), after the monetary policy decision of the Bank of England and despite good corporate results published in the morning.

At 12:45, the CAC 40 index lost 2.39 points, to 6,337.15 points.

On Wednesday, it had rebounded strongly, by 1.40%.

"Despite the current season of reassuring results, operators' attention remains focused on monetary policies and stimulus spending, as the prospect of pressure from rising prices remains alive and can only increase in the coming weeks, especially as many economies are starting to see beyond the pandemic, "explains Pierre Veyret, analyst for ActivTrades.

Pharmaceuticals, stable for the moment in Europe, could be under pressure during the day, after a statement from the Biden administration which said it was in favor of the lifting of intellectual property protections for vaccines against Covid-19 , in order to speed up the production and distribution of precious serums around the world.

In the morning, Emmanuel Macron said he was "completely in favor of the lifting of intellectual property" on vaccines, Germany said it was "open" to a "discussion" on the subject, just like the 'EU which said it was "ready to discuss" a lifting of patents.

This position, criticized by the International Federation of the Pharmaceutical Industry, comes after a G7 meeting at the end of which the great powers did not announce additional aid for sharing vaccines requested by the WHO.

Main news of the day, the Bank of England (BoE) maintained its rates after its monetary policy committee.

As for indicators, investors will take note of new claims for unemployment benefits in the United States over the past week, as well as the PMI services index in April in the United Kingdom.

Air France-KLM falls

Air France (-2.08% to 4.47 euros) suffered another heavy loss of 1.5 billion euros in the first quarter, in a "still difficult environment" for the airline sector.

Societe Generale at the top of the CAC 40

The banking group announced that it had generated a net profit of 814 million euros over the first three months of the year, after a first quarter of 2020 in the red.

The title took 3.91% to 24.56 euros.

EDF does not appeal

The CEO of EDF pleaded for the integrated character of the company within the framework of a possible reorganization, considering that it was a "red line", and noted discussions "extremely difficult" with Brussels.

The title lost 3.35% to 11.68 euros.

SES leaps

The satellite operator jumped 8.41% to 6.60 euros after posting a gross operating surplus in the first quarter down 6.9% in published data, but well above analysts' forecasts.

Arkema is progressing

The specialty chemicals group Arkema (+ 2.69% to 108.95 euros), which recorded a 59% increase in its net profit in the first quarter of 2021, has "significantly" raised its objectives for the year.

Legrand goes up

The French manufacturer of electrical equipment Legrand (+ 2.47% to 84.68 euros), on the strength of its quarterly balance sheet, announced Thursday that it was raising its financial objectives for 2021.

© 2021 AFP