Crédit Agricole share breaks through its 17.57 € support level and slides further
The French banking sector is facing widespread pressure on Thursday, with the CAC 40 declining by more than 1%. Crédit Agricole is among the most affected values in the index, with its share price falling below key technical thresholds, as the European macroeconomic context is tightening with inflation accelerating sharply in the eurozone.
A 3.22% decline that pushes the share below its three moving averages
Crédit Agricole share is down 3.22% to €17.00 during the session, abandoning its former support level of €17.57, now transformed into resistance. The share is trading below its three moving averages: the MA20 at €18.32 (gap of -7.18%), the MA50 at €18.81 (-9.60%) and the MA200 at €17.69 (-3.87%). This configuration, where the price is below the three trend benchmarks simultaneously, reflects sustained selling pressure across multiple timeframes.
The RSI at 32 is approaching the oversold zone without having crossed it: it signals a near-term exhaustion of selling momentum, without an established reversal. Over one month, the share shows a decline of 8.16%, and 5.71% over the week, placing this session as a continuation of a downward trend that has been underway for several weeks.
A macroeconomic environment weighing on the entire French banking sector
The decline occurs in a tense macro context for European banks. Inflation in the eurozone accelerated in September, reaching 3.4% in France and 4.1% in Italy, due to the energy shock linked to the conflict in Iran, while money markets are now pricing in up to four additional rate hikes over one year. In this context, an accelerated monetary tightening in the eurozone can generally weigh on the quality of banks' credit portfolios and the demand for new loans.
Outstanding corporate loans to French businesses continue to grow by 3.4% on an annual basis as of end-August, but with a fixed real estate usury rate now set at 5.40%, pressure on new loan origination remains significant. In this context, analysts' views are based on a share trading at approximately 7.4 times the expected earnings of the current fiscal year, according to the consensus of surveyed analysts, a modest valuation level that reflects the uncertainties weighing on the sector. The resistance level to break remains fixed at €17.57, the former support lost on Thursday.
