Luxury Stocks In Paris and Milan Surge After Richemont Quarterly Sales Soar

Bridgette Randall
16 Jan, 2025
London

Stock market indexes in Europe advanced amid positive market sentiment following the release of corporate updates in France and the U.K. 

Benchmark indexes in Paris soared, driven by a surge in luxury stocks after the Switzerland-based Richemont SA reported sales in the fiscal third quarter jumped 15%. 

Market indexes in London advanced after Rio Tinto and Antofagasta released their monthly production reports; however, market gains were capped after a muted increase in monthly GDP in the U.K.

Gross domestic product increased 0.1% on a monthly basis in November following an unrevised decrease of 0.1% in October, the Office for National Statistics reported Thursday. 

 

Europe Indexes and Yields

The DAX index increased by 0.2% to 20,612.99; the CAC-40 index rose by 2.2% to 7,623.41; and the FTSE 100 index inched higher by 0.7% to 8,365.77.

The yield on 10-year German bonds edged lower to 2.55%, French bonds fell to 3.36%, the UK gilts decreased to 4.71%, and Italian bonds edged lower to 3.70%.

The euro edged lower to $1.02; the British pound inched lower to $1.22; and the U.S. dollar eased to 91.15 Swiss cents. 

Brent crude decreased $0.90 to $81.13 a barrel, and the Dutch TTF natural gas fell by €1.20 to €45.93 per MWh.

 

Europe Stock Movers

Richemont SA soared 16.6% to CHF 162.15 after the parent company of Cartier reported a 10% increase in sales in the December quarter. 

Luxury peers advanced sharply in Paris and Milan after the company's sales update. 

Hermes International SCA jumped 5.9% to €2,504.0, LVMH advanced 9.5% to €697.70, and Kering SA soared 9.2% to €243.75. 

Rio Tinto plc gained 1.7% to 5,017.0 pence after the UK-based mining company reported strong production results in the December quarter. 

Antofagasta plc rose 3.5% to 1,756.0 pence, despite the UK-based mining company operating in Chile reporting flat production of copper in 2024. 

Renault SA advanced 3.9% to €49.33 after the French automaker reported a 1.3% increase in unit sales in 2024, and the sales increase was driven in part by a faster adoption of electric vehicles. 

Stellantis NV increased 1% to €12.46, despite the Italian automaker reporting a 9% decline in global shipments of vehicles in the fourth quarter. 

Whitbread plc declined 2.2% to 2,903.0 pence after the hotel and restaurant company reported a decline in sales. 

Revenue in the fiscal third quarter ending in December declined 2%, driven by a 1% fall in comparable sales. 

UK comparable accommodation sales decreased 3%, and food and beverage sales decreased 1%, and total UK sales dropped 3%. 

However, comparable sales in Germany soared 20% in the third quarter.