After its panic attack of the previous day (-3.6%), the Paris Bourse is expected to rebound strongly on Thursday morning, following the announcement by the Swiss authorities of measures to support Credit Suisse.

At around 8:15 a.m., the 'future' contract on the CAC 40 index - for delivery at the end of March - climbed 100.5 points to 6988 points, heralding a vigorous rebound in early trading.

In a press release issued yesterday evening, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) reassured investors that Credit Suisse, which had been the cause of a dismal market session on Wednesday, was in good shape.

FINMA considers the Swiss bank to be in full compliance with the capital and liquidity requirements applicable to banks deemed to be of systemic importance.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB), for its part, has assured the bank that it is ready to provide sufficient liquidity should the need arise.

Credit Suisse immediately took the SNB at its word, declaring its intention to borrow up to 50 billion Swiss francs (around 50 billion euros) from the Swiss central bank.

Citing "decisive" action as a "preventive" measure, the group also announced its intention to buy back almost three billion Swiss francs worth of debt instruments in circulation on the markets.

All these announcements come as the private bank's share price plunged by over 24% yesterday amid concerns about its capitalization.

Frightened by Credit Suisse's fall, all European stock markets tumbled yesterday. In Zurich, the SMI index dropped 1.9%, while in Frankfurt, the DAX fell 3.3%. The pan-European Euro STOXX 50 index was down 3.5%.

It is in this climate of confusion that the European Central Bank (ECB) will today hold its Governing Council meeting, eagerly awaited by investors.

The recent turmoil in the markets is unlikely to deter the central bank from raising rates by a further 50 basis points at the end of its meeting.

Beyond this decision, it is above all the speech by Christine Lagarde, the ECB's President, that will arouse interest as investors try to guess the future trajectory of rates.

Mrs. Lagarde will have to comply with the mandate and renew her commitment to fighting inflation without adding to the ambient volatility", warns Axel Botte, international strategist at Ostrum AM.

For strategists, reassuring words about the health of European banks and implicit support for the Old Continent's banking system would be welcome to sweeten the pill of rate hikes.

Generally speaking, investors are hoping that central banks will be more accommodating while they assess the fallout from the current crisis, which many attribute to tighter credit conditions.

However, a major difference between the current situation and previous episodes of banking crisis is a more solid macroeconomic backdrop, with persistent inflationary pressures in particular", points out Frederik Ducrozet, Head of Economic Research at Pictet Wealth Management.

"This will make it difficult to trade off inflation and financial stability risks, as central banks try to postpone rate cuts for as long as possible", he warns.

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