The CAC 40 index gained 0.70% to 6,550.66 points.

Before the Christmas long weekend, it ended down 0.20% on Friday.

“There is no conviction on the markets, but just an epidermal reaction to the opening of China which is taking place in fairly hollow volumes”, observed Frédéric Rozier portfolio manager at Mirabaud France.

"The market is reacting, even overreacting to the assumption that the Chinese will finally get out of China, travel and spend," he continues.

As a result, all stocks sensitive to China ended the session in the green on Tuesday, namely luxury, tourism and commodities.

China will end mandatory quarantines on arrival in the country on January 8, the last vestige of its strict "zero Covid" health policy that has kept it isolated from the outside world since March 2020.

On Tuesday, the Chinese immigration services announced the gradual resumption, from January 8, of the issuance of passports for the purposes of "tourism" or for "visits of friends abroad".

Luxury shines with China, tourism gloats

Luxury stocks supported the Parisian rating: LVMH posted the strongest growth in the CAC 40 (+2.43% to 690.20 euros) ahead of Hermès (+2.04% to 1,472.50 euros) and Kering (+ 1.39% to 478.50 euros).

The tourism sector also benefited from the reopening of China: the airline Air France-KLM gained 1.30% to 1.29 euros, ADP took 0.60% and Airbus 0.97%.

The Accor hotel group grew by 0.67% to 23.88 euros.

Metabolic Explorer feeds its cash flow

The biochemical company Metabolic Explorer (MetEx), in difficulty with the surge in energy and raw materials, announced on Tuesday the forthcoming injection of 73 million euros by its main shareholder, the SPI fund of the public bank. Bpifrance, and private banks.

BPI France's SPI fund will, in addition to participating in the capital increase of a total of 8 million euros, immediately make 2.5 million euros available "in order to deal with a cash flow impasse", according to a press release.

The title plunged 14.50% to 1.37 euros.

Since the start of the year, when it hit its all-time high, the stock has fallen by almost 80%.

© 2022 AFP