The Paris Stock Exchange resists, carried by the banks and the 1st round of the presidential election

After opening slightly lower, the CAC 40 moved in the green throughout the second half of the session to close slightly up 0.12% at 6,555.81 points.

The Parisian place had finished up 1.34% on Friday but had lost 2.04% over the week, a little more than its European neighbors, due to concerns as the first round approached.

Unlike the other major European markets which ended in the red, the Parisian rating posted "a small, slightly technical rebound" while "in market logic, a Mélenchon / Le Pen duel in the second round was considered the worst-case scenario" , explains to AFP Mikaël Jacoby, head of continental Europe brokerage at Oddo Securities.

However, uncertainty remains for the second round on April 24, which will pit Ms. Le Pen against Mr. Macron.

“A victory for Emmanuel Macron would be welcomed by the markets, as these would reflect the reduction of political uncertainty and the maintenance of a policy favorable to companies”, estimates Lale Akoner, strategist at BNY Mellon IM.

“On the other hand, a victory for Marine Le Pen would mean an increase in political uncertainty, which could cause a massive drop in the markets,” continues the expert.

For the rest, "the environment remains the same with inflation, soaring rates, central bank measures and an extremely distressing geopolitical context", underlines Mr. Jacoby.

The upward movement in bond yields benefited the financial sector but hurt technology stocks.

Banks in the green

Six weeks after the start of the invasion of Ukraine, Societe Generale announced on Monday that it would end its activities in Russia by selling its entire stake in Rosbank to a Russian oligarch.

This withdrawal announcement was described as "positive" by RBC analysts, who also underlined the "manageable" impact of the operation for the bank.

The stock rose 4.96% to 22.95 euros.

In an environment of pursuit of sovereign yields, BNP Paris took 1.88% to 48.75 euros, Crédit Agricole 1.24% to 10.01 euros and the insurer Axa 2.85% to 26.50 euros.

Tech and luxury in red

On the other hand, technology stocks, very sensitive to inflation and interest rates, fell like the champion of software for industry Dassault Systèmes (-3.37%).

The luxury sector was weighed down by the health situation in China.

Hermès lost 3.21%, Kering 2.90% and LVMH 1.87%.

© 2022 AFP