Paris (AFP)

The Paris Bourse remained slightly in the red (-0.24%) Thursday at mid-session, cautious before the publication of US inflation and the outcome of the meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB).

At 1:00 p.m., the CAC 40 index lost 15.11 points to 6,548.34 points.

The day before it had finished up 0.19%, on the same trend as the first sessions of the week and still on levels more seen since September 2000.

Gained by nervousness, investors impatiently await the publication of the consumer price index for May in the United States and the verdict of the ECB.

While the status quo is expected regarding the monetary institution's interest rates, the new economic outlook, detailed from time to time, will be scrutinized by investors.

And regarding inflation, "obviously, year on year it will be very high, reflecting very important base effects," warns Sebastian Paris Horvitz at LBPAM.

"Inflation is expected to approach 5%, the highest figure since the rise in the price of oil to nearly $ 150 per barrel in 2008," he continues.

But central banks keep repeating that this inflation will be transitory and that the economic recovery still needs to be supported monetarily.

In addition to the agenda of the day, weekly applications for unemployment benefits in the United States, also scheduled for early afternoon.

In France, private salaried employment grew by 0.5% in the 1st quarter and industrial production fell by 0.1% in April compared to March, and remains at 5.5% below of its pre-crisis level.

In Italy, industrial production accelerated its rise in April, surpassing the level before the coronavirus pandemic.

Believe stumbles

The French nugget Believe, which helps musicians to establish themselves on the streaming markets, plunged 12.30% to 17.10 euros, during its first steps on the Paris Stock Exchange.

Crédit Agricole buys back its shares

The banking group will launch from Thursday a share buyback program for a maximum amount of 558.6 million euros.

The Crédit Agricole share jumped 2.69% to 12.43 euros and rose to the top of the CAC 40.

Stellantis indicted

After Renault (+ 0.19% to 34.68 euros) and Volkswagen, Peugeot was also indicted in France in the investigation of fraud in the pollution control of older generations of diesel engines, Stellantis announced on Wednesday evening (- 0.67% to 17.11 euros), parent company of the French manufacturer.

Alstom leaves doubtful

A consortium led by Alstom (-0.70% to 45.30 euros) has won a contract of approximately 1.3 billion euros, of which "nearly a billion" for the French railway manufacturer, to supply the rolling stock and signaling for the "Tren Maya", a new rail link in southeastern Mexico.

© 2021 AFP