Paris (AFP)

Caution continued on the Paris Bourse on Wednesday at midday (-0.03%), on the eve of an ECB meeting and the publication of the latest inflation figures in the United States.

At 1:00 p.m. (11:00 a.m. GMT), the flagship CAC 40 index was treading water, crumbling by 2.11 points to 6,548.90 points after three consecutive moderately positive sessions, but evolving at the highest levels for more than 20 years.

"Investors are awaiting the inflation figures tomorrow and to a lesser extent the ECB meeting," say experts from Saxo Bank.

Since the start of the week, investors have been restricting the extent of risk taking in view of these two meetings.

"The ECB will probably maintain its desire to remain accommodating for the long term so as not to jeopardize the rebound in growth," said Hubert Lemoine, director of investments at Schelcher Prince Gestion.

"Growth projections should be more optimistic than at the previous meeting, and a slight increase in the medium-term inflation outlook is expected," he continues.

In this context of rising prices, a large number of experts anticipate a reduction in monetary support in the euro zone, but not before next year.

With regard to the United States, the Federal Reserve (Fed) considers that the rise in inflation will be limited in time and that it does not therefore justify the rapid normalization of its monetary policy.

But "several developments (gasoline, persistence of supply disruptions for cars, rents, wage increases in certain sectors) mean that we cannot exclude a more persistent rise in inflation. This would push the Fed to exit. more abrupt than expected in its accommodative policies, "said Bastien Drut, head of macroeconomics at CPR AM.

All eyes will therefore be riveted Thursday on the publication of the consumer price index for May in the United States, a crucial figure before the monetary meeting of the Federal Reserve (Fed) next week.

Luxury retains its superb

Luxury stocks supported the Parisian market: Kering gained 0.39% to 744.90 euros and LVMH 0.32% to 661.80 euros.

Jefferies has increased its target price on these two stocks, believing that they should benefit from the strong momentum that continues in the sector.

L'Oréal advanced 0.50% to 382.70 euros and Hermes won 0.97% to 1,193.50 euros.

Indigestible note for Danone

At the bottom of the CAC 40 poster, Danone dropped 1.55% to 58.41 euros, penalized by a lower recommendation to "underperform" an analyst from RBC Capital Markets.

Compagnie des Alpes at altitude

The title rose 2.52% to 22.35 euros after the launch of a capital increase of 231 million euros in particular "to revive the momentum of investments".

The world leader in ski area operations, which also manages leisure parks including Parc Astérix, specifies that the total amount of subscription commitments from existing shareholders amounts to 144.6 million euros, "ie at minus 62.6% of the transaction ".

© 2021 AFP