The Paris stock market has seen a slight contraction in its gains since 4pm (after testing the 7,350 mark), but remains on a bullish course with +0.45% to 7,335, the index being driven in particular by Stellantis and Axa (+3.5 to +4%).
The Euro-Stoxx50 did even better with +0.6% to 4,270, following in the footsteps of the DAX, which gained nearly +0.7%... while Wall Street, which had lost 2 to 2.5% on Tuesday and stagnated the previous day, recovered cautiously by +0.4 to +0.5%.

Several US figures have just been released: US GDP grew at an annualized rate of 2.7% in Q4 2022 (vs. 2.9% expected), according to the Commerce Department's second estimate.
Consumption in Q4 was revised down sharply from +2.1% to +1.4%, and unemployment continued to fall, with weekly registrations down -3,000 to 292,000, a near 50-year low.

The market environment remains quite logically disrupted by these robust employment figures: fears of further rate hikes could rock an economy that seems to be escaping recession for the time being.

Last night's publication of the minutes of the latest meeting of the Fed's Monetary Policy Committee (FOMC) showed that several Fed officials were still in favor of raising interest rates by a further 50 basis points because of persistently high inflation.

Investors felt, however, that the 'minutes' provided no evidence to alter their rate expectations, which have been significantly revised upwards in recent weeks.

Whereas at the end of January, the Fed's final rate forecast was estimated at 4.9% for June, markets are now expecting a final rate of over 5.3% in July, and perhaps even 5.60%.

As William De Vijlder, chief economist at BNP Paribas, reminds us, "the higher the final rate, the greater the likelihood of a bumpy landing".

On the interest rate front, the day started cautiously, but buyers are resolutely taking control, and an easing is taking place in Europe.
Our OATs are down 7.5pts at 2.945%, Bunds down 6.6pts at 2.471%.


In the U.S., the improvement remains more modest, with the 10-year yield down 3pts to 3.923%, but the 1-year yield holding steady at around 5.05/5.06% after the 2:30 p.m. figures.

In corporate news, EssilorLuxottica claims a record 2022, with adjusted net income (group share) up 23.3% to 2.86 billion euros and adjusted operating margin at 16.8%, an improvement of 70 basis points on pro forma 2021.

Arkema reports a 30.2% increase in net income before non-recurring items to €1.17 billion, or €15.75 per share, for 2022, and an all-time high EBITDA of €2.11 billion, up 22.2%, for an improved margin of 0.2 points to 18.3%.

Bouygues reported a 13.5% decline in net income (group share) to €973 million for 2022, but confirmed that it had achieved its annual targets, with operating income before non-recurring items (excluding Equans) up by €152 million and sales up by 8%.

Finally, Getlink has announced net income of 252 million euros for 2022, compared with a loss of 229 million the previous year, and tripled EBITDA (+198%) to 886 million, after a provision of 142 million linked to the future sharing of ElecLink profits.


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