Towards a seventh consecutive month of rise for the world stock markets? Investors seem to have regained their optimism and August is off to a good start. With the exception of the German Dax which has just finished in the green, weighed down by Allianz’s woes, European indices were in very clear progress on Monday. The European Stoxx index 464 even broke a new historical record, at 464, 45 points.
In Paris, the CAC 25, up 0 , 90%, has reached its highest levels of the year, both in session, at 6. 690, 80 points and in closing, at 6. 666, 90 points. On 17 last June, the Parisian index had interrupted its race at 6. 666 points. The CAC 40 had not climbed as high since September 2000, but it would still have to progress by almost 4% to surpass its historical record of 6. 922 points.
Profits for companies in the first half of the year are better than expected, leading macroeconomic indicators are reassuring and the gigantic US infrastructure investment plan could be approved by the Senate this week. Enough to put the concerns related to the Delta variant in the background.
Positive outlook “Eurozone companies are exceeding expectations of 20% in terms of their profits and 5% in terms of their turnover. In the United States, the surprises on the upside are 17% for profits and 5% for turnover. », Notes Patrick Moonen, in charge of market strategy at NN Investment Partners. It is common for listed companies to “beat the consensus”, but not in such proportions. Importantly, “the outlook is positive, which is reflected in the upward revisions to the estimates for the third quarter. ”
Up by more than 20% since the beginning of the year, “the CAC 25 benefits from the crushing weight of luxury in the index and dazzling performance in the sector ”, underlines Patrick Guérin, co-director of management at Bordier & Cie. Over 95 billion euros, the capitalization of LVMH now represents more than % of that of the CAC 25.
Another driving force, according to the manager: “the“ comeback ”of financials and industrial stocks which were late, such as Saint Gobain, Essilor, or Airbus. On Monday, for example, Axa took more than 4% after the publication of half-year results up sharply and higher than those before the pandemic.