BNP Paribas Shares Drop Nearly 4% After Record High
Mid-session sees a sharp decline in the stock of France's leading bank within a heavily penalized CAC 40. This movement follows a series of record highs last week amid a significant increase in volatility in the European market. Financial stocks are among the main pressure points on the Paris index.
A Drop of 3.84% Brings the Stock Below Its 20-Day Moving Average
BNP Paribas stock loses 3.84% to €97.87, down from a previous close of €101.78. The stock has fallen below its 20-day moving average of €100.32, a -2.44% gap, while still maintaining a comfortable cushion above the MM50 (€94.97, +3.05%) and especially the MM200 (€84.94, +15.22%). The RSI at 59 remains in the neutral zone, indicating that today's movement interrupts the recent momentum without reversing it. The decline is part of a CAC 40 down by 2.22% and an SBF 120 losing 2.18%, as the VIX jumps nearly 20% to 18.6. The overall banking sector is affected: Société Générale drops by 5.63% and takes the last place in the CAC 40, while Crédit Agricole loses 3.13%. This decline occurs in a tense geopolitical context. The United States has conducted strikes against Iran, which in retaliation claims missile and drone strikes on military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain. From Ankara, Donald Trump has also declared the ceasefire with Tehran over, reducing short-term diplomatic clarity. This surge in volatility interrupts the stock's rally, which had reached a historic high of €103.46 on July 6.
A Correction That Does Not Erase the Performance of the Last Three Months
Despite today's drop, the multi-month balance remains largely positive: the stock is up +16.9% over three months and +28.88% over a year. The weekly loss stands at -4.18%, a limited attenuation of the spring rally. The technical support identified at €91.76 offers a margin of nearly 6% compared to the current price, while the resistance at €103.60 corresponds to the area of the record reached at the beginning of the week. The interest rate environment remains a fundamental parameter for the bank: the 3-month Euribor stands at 2.339% as of June 1, up 0.32 points over twelve months, while the outstanding credit to French companies grows by 2.8% year-on-year to €1,465 billion. Regarding multiples, the stock trades at about 8.5 times the expected earnings for the current fiscal year and 7.6 times those of the next, according to the consensus of surveyed analysts, with an expected growth in earnings per share of 11.7% from one fiscal year to the next. The aggregated CET1 ratio of the French banking sector remains solid at 15.57% at the end of 2024 according to the ACPR. The next key milestone for the stock will be the publication of the semi-annual results, to be monitored to validate or not the profitability trajectory integrated by the market since the spring.
