The Parisian CAC 40 index rose again by 0.52% to 7,519.61 points, --a new absolute record-- and signed a fifth consecutive session of increase.

Over the week, it advanced 2.66%, a fourth weekly gain in a row. The Paris Stock Exchange is doing better than its European counterparts thanks to the weight of luxury companies, whose growth is still impressive.

The week was punctuated by good news, including "a deceleration on the services-related part" of US inflation on Wednesday followed by a decline above the expectations of producer prices in the United States in March, recapitulates Florian Roger, head of investment strategy at BNP Paribas CIB.

What "give grain to grind to the Fed so that it positions itself on the end of its cycle of rate hikes".

"A Fed calming its eagerness of monetary tightening and an economy that slows down without it being too serious, it gives an environment that is not so bad for the equity markets," decrypts the expert interviewed by AFP.

There have been several signs of economic slowdown recently, raising fears of negative consequences for corporate results and growth. But on the other hand, these signals are also likely to lower inflation and thus support the central banks' objective.

Retail sales in March fell by 1%, much more than expected, which cooled the enthusiasm of investors on the other side of the Atlantic.

Consumer confidence in the United States improved more than expected in April, according to the preliminary estimate of the University of Michigan published Friday, which however shows a deterioration in expectations for inflation.

Christopher Waller, one of the governors of the US Federal Reserve, was Friday in favor of one or more additional increases in key rates, believing that inflation remains far too high, monetary policy should be "tightened further".

In France, inflation reached 5.7% in March over one year, driven by soaring food prices, its main driver, according to a final estimate revised slightly higher Friday by INSEE.

After LVMH, a golden start to the year at Hermès

In the wake of sparkling results at LVMH, the French luxury group Hermès announced Friday that it had achieved 3.4 billion euros in sales in the first quarter, an increase of 22% year-on-year, thanks to all its businesses and all geographical areas, after a record year 2022.

The results confirm "Hermès' ability to overcome adverse demand trends better than others, taking advantage of its brand's high desirability and waiting lists," writes Bernstein analyst Luca Solca.

The share gained 1.52% to 1,975 euros, that of Kering 1.30% to 576 euros and LVMH 1.01% to 892.80 euros. Over the week, their respective increase is 5.50% for Hermès, 7.68% for LVMH and 3.71% for Kering.

Impetus from banks

The results of the four largest US banks, well received on Wall Street, supported the European financial sector after the banking stress of March, including Société Générale (+3.63%), BNP Paribas (+3.22%) and Crédit Agricole (+2.30%).

© 2023 AFP