Paris stock market joins London

LONON (AFP): The Paris stock market hit an-all time high on Thursday after London’s record-breaking run on economic recovery hopes as inflation eases away from sky-high levels.

The Paris CAC 40 index jumped 1.1 percent to a record 7,387.29 points, beating a peak hit last year by just a few points.

It comes after London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index struck a record at 8,047.06 points Thursday, a day after passing 8,000 for the first time.

Indices are rising as traders expect central banks, notably the Federal Reserve and Bank of England, to soon bring an end to a policy of raising interest rates aimed at cooling inflation. This was weighing on the dollar Thursday, analysts said.

Official data this week showed annual inflation rates easing in Britain and the United States, although they remain around historic-high levels.

Traders are cheering other data releases, including strong US jobs and retail numbers, in addition to strong earnings from some of the world’s biggest companies in recent weeks.

Net profit at European aircraft manufacturer Airbus soared to a record level in 2022 despite supply chain problems limiting its ability to increase production.

Profit after tax rose one percent to 4.2 billion euros ($4.5 billion) as Airbus delivered 661 aircraft last year, which was lower than planned.

“The US jobs data remains strong, inflation continues coming lower… and yesterday’s US retail sales data came as a cherry on top, with an eye-popping three-percent rise” last month, Swissquote Bank senior analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya noted.
Elsewhere, bitcoin extended a march higher, reaching $24,639 — the highest level since August — as traders tracked the positive mood across equity markets.

First American Trust’s Jerry Braakman sounded a note of caution.
“Everybody is trying to figure out whether this is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime soft landing or if it’s just taking longer before we get a panic recession.”