Paris (awp/afp) – The Paris Stock Exchange ended higher on Monday, benefiting from the fall in oil prices, with investors showing relief at the absence of escalation of tensions in the Middle East.
The flagship index gained 0.79% to 7,556.94 points, a gain of 59.40 points. Friday, it finished sluggish, gaining 0.08%, to 7,503.28 points.
The majority of stocks in the flagship CAC 40 index finished in the green.
Without “values or sectors emerging”, we are witnessing a “general buying” on the stock markets, which are taking full advantage of a renewed attractiveness, particularly in relation to the bond market, explains Aurélien Buffault, bond manager at Delubac AM interviewed by AFP.
A surge in crude prices is usually inflationary and a fall in barrel prices therefore has the opposite effect, consequently weighing on interest rates, he explains.
Enough to benefit in comparison to the stock markets, bonds becoming “less attractive because they have less yield than stocks”, he specifies.
In detail, around 6:30 p.m. in Paris, the price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea fell by 5.71% to $71.70 and its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), dropped 5.78%. , at $67.63.
Oil prices plunged on Monday after Israel spared Iranian energy infrastructure in its air attack on Saturday, the Jewish state having preferred to target military sites in response to Tehran's missile attack on October 1.
Since October 1, oil prices have included a strong geopolitical risk premium.
For Aurélien Buffault, the CAC 40 even benefited more from the fall in crude prices than other global indices.
“We buy the French market a little late compared to other equity markets,” he explains.
TotalEnergies lagging behind
Oil stocks suffered from the drop in crude prices.
From a market perspective, “tensions in the Middle East seem to be easing,” says Ricardo Evangelista, analyst at ActivTrades.
“Fears of all-out war between Israel and Iran have loomed over the region for a month, with markets bracing [à de possibles] Israel's retaliation following the Iranian missile attack,” he continued.
TotalEnergies lost 0.90% to 59.73 euros on the Paris Stock Exchange at the close.
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