European markets benefited from spillover sentiment from US equities this week, as well as upbeat economic data.
ADVERTISEMENTEuropean shares closed the week on an upbeat note, drawing optimism from the record performance of the S&P 500 this week, which was at all-time highs of $4,894.17 (€4,500.34) on Friday afternoon. A surprisingly robust advance estimate for the Q4 2023 US gross domestic product (GDP) report contributed significantly to the positive sentiment.
The CAC 40 index inched up 2.52% this week to €7,637.8, with the Stoxx 600 index also rising 2.71% to €484.1. The FTSE 100 index closed up 2.46% at £7,640.9 (€8,956.2).
Gold dropped 0.35% to $2,021.3 per ounce while Brent crude oil prices inched up 4.93% to $82.3 per barrel, with crude oil prices jumping 5.26% to $77.0 per barrel.
CAC 40 top weekly gainers
LVMH surged 16.56% this week, as the company reported better-than-expected sales for 2023 on Thursday and also upped its annual dividend.
Pernod Ricard jumped 10.48% following the company’s recent launch of a honey-flavoured vodka, Absolut Hunni.
Kering advanced 9.96% throughout the week after the company recently acquired a coveted Fifth Avenue property in New York City, worth about €885 million.
Publicis Groupe climbed 6.93%, following the company’s announcement that it had invested about $326 million in artificial intelligence and sharing its 2023 revenue.
Rail manufacturing company Alstom rose 6.25% over the past week, following the company being selected to provide German transport company DB Regio with 18 modern Coradia Max trains.
CAC 40 top weekly losers
French utilities company Engie dipped 4.84% over the week, following the company’s Romanian arm buying an 80 megawatt wind farm in Chirnogeni.
Pharmaceutical giant Sanofi inched lower 1.69% over the week. The company’s new drug Dupixent, developed with Regeneron, has recently been approved to treat patients aged between one and 11 years old and weighing 15 kgs at least, for eosinophilic oesophagitis.
Automobile company Stellantis slid 0.72%, after the company warned that Italy’s stricter approach to incentives is now impacting output.
Industrial gas company Air Liquide slipped 0.65% throughout the week. The company recently announced that it would continue to be actively involved in Sino-French relations.
Danone fell 0.42% this week, after the company recently revealed it was closing a Spanish yoghurt factory in Parets del Valles to increase competitiveness and efficiency.
Economic data this week
The European Central Bank (ECB) announced its January interest rate decision this week, with the bank opting to keep rates steady for a little longer and deciding to take a more data-driven approach. As such, it is likely to be waiting for more convincing data as proof that inflation in the eurozone has truly come under control, before cutting rates.
The advance estimate of the quarter-on-quarter US gross domestic product (GDP) report for 2023’s Q4 came in on Thursday at 3.3%. This was down from 2023’s Q3 of 4.9%, but still quite some way above analyst estimates of 2%. The slowdown from the previous quarter was largely attributed to a drop in consumer spending.
The GfK consumer confidence index for February came in on Friday, dropping to -29.7, down from -25.4 in the previous month. This was the lowest in 11 months and was also some way below market estimates of -24.5.
French consumer confidence figures for January were more optimistic, clocking in at 91, up from 89 in December as well as analyst forecasts of 90.
