After climbing as much as 1.1% during the day to reach 8,057 points, the Paris stock exchange abruptly lost ground at the close: by the final bell, the CAC 40 had to settle for a more modest gain of 0.34%, ending at 7,981 points. The index was buoyed by BNP Paribas (+4.4%) and LVMH (+1.6%), but weighed down by the auto sector, with Stellantis dropping 3%, Michelin down 2.4%, and Renault falling 2%.
On Wall Street, the Nasdaq is up 1.2%, ahead of the S&P 500 (+0.9%).
Robust earnings released overnight by Nvidia provided relief to markets that had been questioning the valuation levels in the AI sector. The world's largest company by market capitalization did not disappoint, posting results well above expectations and issuing forecasts that also beat estimates.
According to analysts, the chipmaker delivered an exceptional quarter, generating record revenue of $57 billion, up 62% year-on-year. This allowed Nvidia to report a net profit of $31.8 billion (+59%) and earnings per share of $1.30, surpassing the consensus forecast of $1.26 per share.
The California-based group anticipates sales of approximately $65 billion for the quarter ending in December, with an improved gross margin of 75%, up from 73.6% in the previous quarter. After gaining more than 5%, Nvidia shares have since experienced profit-taking and are now up less than 1%.
Highly anticipated by investors, the U.S. September jobs report revealed job creation more than 2.5 times higher than expected, at +120,000 (economists' consensus was 50,000 after 22,000 in August), though the unemployment rate edged up from 4.3% to 4.4%.
Confirming the strength of the labor market, jobless claims for the week of November 10-15 fell by 8,000 to 220,000, compared to 228,000 the previous week.
Originally scheduled for Friday, October 3, the Labor Department report had been postponed due to the partial shutdown of federal agencies.
The U.S. bond market appears resigned to a "pause" in rate cuts on December 17 (with consensus at barely 30%), and U.S. Treasuries improved slightly: the 30-year yield dropped 1.3 basis points to 4.739%, the 10-year fell 1.4 points to 4.1200%, and the 2-year lost 1.6 points to 3.582%.
In Europe's bond market, the French 10-year OAT yield rose by 2 points to 3.484%, while the German Bund of the same maturity was up 1.6 points to 2.727%. On the FOREX, the euro remains stable around $1.15.
Cryptocurrencies are attempting a rebound, but progress is sluggish: bitcoin (-2%) remains below $90,000 (at $88,400), and ethereum is unable to climb back above $3,000 (-2.5% at $2,950).
Meanwhile, in London, Brent crude slipped 0.4% to $63.4 a barrel.
In French corporate news, BNP Paribas announced Thursday it had raised its 2027 CET1 capital ratio target to 13% and launched a EUR1.15 billion share buyback program, two developments that were cheered by investors on the Paris exchange this morning.
Valeo unveiled its Elevate 2028 plan, targeting a continued steady increase in profitability, significantly higher cash generation from 2025, and a return to revenue growth starting in 2027.
Soitec disappointed investors with a 36% drop in profit and by slashing its Q4 2025 organic growth target by a factor of five, sending its shares tumbling between 27% and 30% this afternoon.
Getlink lost nearly 2% after the UK's Valuation Office Agency (VOA) announced plans to increase the taxable value used to calculate business rates for its Eurotunnel subsidiary by nearly 200%.
Schneider Electric announced Thursday the inauguration, alongside Canadian partner Albesol, of a new state-of-the-art facility in Mississauga, Ontario, following a $20 million investment.
TotalEnergies says it categorically contests a complaint filed with the French National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office for "complicity in war crimes" in Mozambique, calling the allegations unfounded.
Finally, Edenred announced Thursday that it will integrate Tesla's Supercharger network into its fast-charging offering for electric and hybrid fleet managers in Europe.
