The Paris Bourse is likely to move without a clear trend on Thursday morning, as it awaits the release of new inflation figures for the eurozone that could influence the ECB's forthcoming decisions.

At around 8:15 a.m., the 'future' contract on the CAC 40 index - March delivery - was down 20 points at 7222 points, suggesting a note of caution at the opening.

After a strong start to the year, global equity markets have stalled in recent weeks, penalized by inflation fears and the prospect of accelerating rate hikes.

Although it spent most of the day in positive territory, the CAC entered a contraction zone during the last hour of trading yesterday, ending the session down 0.5% at 7234 points.

Wall Street also started March on a negative note overall, following the publication of indicators showing a contraction in the US manufacturing sector, but also a trend towards acceleration in prices.

Against this backdrop of uncertainty, the highlight of the session will undoubtedly be the publication, at 11:00 am, of the first estimate of inflation in the euro zone for February.

Investors are hoping that the consumer price index in the region will have stabilized, or even fallen slightly, last month, but the latest statistics from France and Germany suggest otherwise.

Danske Bank warns: "In view of the stronger-than-expected resilience of economic activity and the labor market, the scenario of 'persistent' core inflation may well remain a major concern for the ECB, and markets are beginning to factor in further rate hikes.

Later today, the European Central Bank is due to publish the 'minutes' of its February 2 meeting, which resulted in a 50 basis point hike in its main interest rates.

At the time, the Frankfurt-based institution confirmed that it expected to raise rates by a further 50 basis points in March, citing in particular the persistent rise in food prices and the effect of wage increases.

"This just goes to show how much the 'hawks' have the situation well in hand", sum up the teams at Oddo BHF.

As an immediate consequence of this less-than-accommodating stance, bond markets are continuing the downward trend that began in early February.

In Europe, the yield on the 10-year German Bund, the benchmark for the cost of money on the Old Continent, jumped yesterday to 2.72%, while French OATs set a new 12-year ceiling at 3.20%.

On the other side of the Atlantic, US Treasury yields are also on the rise again, as statements by some Fed members have rekindled the debate on the need for further 50 basis point rate hikes.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries, which is closely followed in New York, has tightened further, and is now flirting with the symbolic 4% mark, a threshold not crossed since last November.

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