The Paris Bourse (+0.52%) slowed a little at the close, but continued its record-breaking run, with the CAC40 leaping back up to the 7,520 mark and the CAC 'GR' above 22,100.

The CAC40 posted four consecutive sessions of gains, for a weekly gain of +1.7%, with the index driven by banking stocks on Friday (Société Générale +3.6%, BNP-Paribas +3.2%, Crédit Agricole +2.3%).

The Euro-Stoxx50 gained 0.5% (4,385pts), back in touch with its annual highs (4,400) and not far from its all-time record of January 5, 2022.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones fell -0.6% to below 34,000, weighed down by Boeing (-6%), which suffered another "quality" problem with its 737-Max. The S&P500 fell by 0.4% and the Nasdaq lost 0.6%.

Note the latest US figures: US consumer confidence improved more than expected in April, according to the preliminary results of the University of Michigan's monthly survey published on Friday.

The confidence index rose to 63.5 this month, after 62 in March, while analysts were expecting it to be around 62.7.

Joanne Hsu, the report's author, attributes this upturn to a rise in the morale of low-income households, which more than offset the decline in that of better-off households.

Consumers' assessment of their current situation rose to 68.6 from 66.3 in March, while the sub-index measuring their expectations also improved, to 60.3 from 59.2 last month, despite a deterioration in inflation expectations over a one-year horizon to 4.6% from 3.6% the previous month, as consumers expect inflationary pressures to persist for some time to come.

US retail sales fell more than economists expected in March, dropping by 1% sequentially after a 0.2% decline the previous month (revised from an initial estimate of -0.4%), according to the Commerce Department.

Excluding the automotive sector (vehicles and equipment), US retail sales contracted by 0.8% last month compared with February, where the market consensus expected a more limited decline.

U.S. industrial production rose by 0.4% last month, following a 0.2% increase in February, according to the Federal Reserve, which was broadly in line with economists' expectations.

In detail, manufacturing and mining output contracted by 0.5%, while utilities output jumped by 8.4% as more usual weather conditions boosted heating demand.

Production was 0.5% higher than a year earlier. The industrial capacity utilization rate improved by 0.2 points to 79.8%, a level 0.1 points above its long-term average (1972-2022).

On the other side of the Atlantic, the yield on 10-year Treasuries rose by +6pts to 3.5110%.

This morning, investors were able to take note of the trend in consumer prices in France. Over one year, they rose by 5.7% in March 2023, marking a slowdown after +6.3% in February, according to Insee, which revised upwards its provisional estimate for March by 0.1 points.

This fall in the inflation rate was due to a slowdown in energy prices (+4.9%). Prices for manufactured goods (+4.8%) and services (+2.9%) rose at a similar pace to February. Food (+15.9%) and tobacco (+7.8%) prices are accelerating.

Investors' current attraction to equity markets is limiting demand for Treasury bonds, as illustrated by the rise in German Bund and French OAT yields (+4 to 5pts today, to 2.933% and 2.424% respectively).

The dollar is recovering from its annual low of the previous day: +0.4% to 1.100E.

The prospect of an imminent pause in the monetary tightening cycle, both in the USA and Europe, is fuelling investors' risk appetite and driving them towards the equity markets.

The markets are now awaiting the start of the corporate earnings season, and any good news that might sustain the upward trajectory underway in recent weeks.

In the news for French companies, Hermès International reports sales of €3.38 billion for the first quarter of 2023, up 22% (+23% at constant exchange rates), with 'dynamic activity in all geographic zones and in all business lines'.

Kaufman & Broad reports net income attributable to equity holders of the parent (RNPG) of 31.6 million euros for the first quarter of 2023, compared with 11.8 million euros for the same period in 2022, as well as an improvement of 0.9 points in the operating income recurring rate to 8.4%.

Genfit reported a net loss of 23.7 million euros and an operating loss of 27.3 million euros for 2022, compared with profits of 67.3 and 31.8 million euros respectively for the previous year.

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