ANALYSIS – Oil services companies and commodity specialists drove the market higher.
A month after the start of the war in Ukraine, the CAC 40 resumed its march forward. At nearly 6,600 points, the flagship index of the Paris Stock Exchange is only 3% from the close of February 23, on the eve of the Russian offensive. The ascent was particularly rapid. The CAC 40 had lost almost 12% between February 23 and its trough on March 8.
Since then, it has rebounded more than 10%. For Olivier Raingeard, director of investments at Neuflize OBC, this recovery is not surprising: “Since the Second World War, history has taught us that, in the face of geopolitical risk, equity markets have experienced a period of high but temporary volatility. In 70% of cases, the decline is erased after six months; and, after a year, the markets are generally up.»
Soaring energy prices
Russia being a major producer of hydrocarbons, oil prices have panicked the counters. From 90 dollars in February, the barrel of Brent from the North Sea soared to almost 140 dollars per…