Paris (awp/afp) – The Paris Stock Exchange ended Wednesday down, after a complete reversal of trend: the relief of investors in the face of a clear and uncontested outcome of the American presidential election gave way to concerns about the consequences economic benefits for Europe from Donald Trump’s program.
The flagship CAC 40 index lost 0.51%, or 37.54 points, ending the session at 7,369.61 points, after having started the session with a bang, even briefly soaring by more than 2% in the morning . On Tuesday, it finished up 0.48%.
Céline Weill-Alliel, manager at Uzès Gestion, describes “a day in two parts”.
First, the “relief” of a clear result of the American presidential election, giving “a real guideline after a long period of wait-and-see” on the markets, she explains.
For Christophe Boucher, investment director at ABN AMRO Investment Solutions, “the most pessimistic scenario – Trump contesting the results – is avoided”. The market thus welcomed the “removal of uncertainty” with a result which “is not going to be discussed, disputed and re-examined for days and days”, he explains to AFP.
What followed was an “awareness,” continues Ms. Weill-Alliel.
Investors considered that if the Republican leader’s program is implemented, “it could be devastating for Europe, with risks to growth and inflation”, underlines Lionel Melka, manager at Swann Capital interviewed by AFP.
The next American president wants to increase import taxes to between 10 and 20% for all products entering the United States, and up to 60% for those coming from China or even 200% for certain types of goods.
“Everything that is going to be imported into the United States therefore risks being taxed significantly,” summarizes Ms. Weill-Alliel. “The market has completely turned around just on a reflection effect, and should probably calm down in the days to come,” according to her.
Defense in good shape
Donald Trump’s victory benefited values in the defense sectors: Safran gained 1.10% to 219.60 euros, Thales gained 2.87% to 154.25 euros and Dassault Aviation 4.26% to 195, 60 euros.
During his campaign, Donald Trump ordered European members of NATO to increase their defense budgets and repeatedly threatened to end American military aid to Ukraine, promising to end this war in 24 hours.
Crédit Agricole is struggling
The action of French banking group Crédit Agricole ended down 3.77% at 13.77 euros, experiencing the biggest drop in the CAC 40, after it published a lower year-on-year profit in the third quarter.
The listed entity of the Crédit Agricole SA group (CASA) posted quarterly net profit of 1.67 billion euros, down 4.7% year-on-year.
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