The Paris stock market (+1.2) resumed its upward march with 30mn to go, continuing the momentum of the previous day (+1.4%), driven in particular by the rebound of Unibail (+4%), Société Générale (+3.5%) and BNP Paribas (+2.5%) amid easing fears surrounding banking stocks.
The month of March could end close to its zenith, with the CAC40 this morning back to within 1% of its best closing marks of January 5, 2022 and March 6, 2023.
The turbulent episode of mid-March has been erased, with prices up 1% above the levels of March 9 and 7% above the lows of March 15.
On Wall Street, the S&P500 (+0.6%) is back above the 4.050 and the Nasdaq (+0.8%) above 12,000 (for a monthly gain of +2%).

On the figures front, US GDP is revised slightly downwards to 2.6% (vs. 2.7%) annualized in Q4 2022, according to the third estimate from the Department of Commerce (DoC).
The slowdown in economic growth is noticeable compared with the previous quarter's 3.2% annual rate. For the full year 2022, however, US growth remains estimated at 2.1%.

In addition, the PCE price index - the most closely monitored sub-index - rose by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, the same rate as previous estimates. Excluding food and energy prices, it rose by 4.4%, an upward revision of 0.1 percentage points.

US weekly jobless claims rose by 7,000 in the week to March 20, to 198,000 from 191,000 the previous week, according to the US Department of Labor.000 the previous week, according to the Labor Department.

Meanwhile, the four-week moving average - considered a better indicator of the underlying trend in the labor market - showed a week-on-week increase of 2000 to 198.250.
T-Bonds remain stagnant for a second session, with a score stuck at around 3.565%.
The dollar continues its slide, losing no less than 0.6% to 1.0910E, approaching its annual lows.
Half a good surprise in Europe: the 12-month inflation rate slowed markedly in Germany in March, to 7.4% year-on-year (vs. +8.7% in February) this month, according to Destatis, the Federal Statistics Office.
But this is still slightly above the 7.3% expected, and is largely due to the "base effect" affecting energy prices, which rose by just 3.5% year-on-year in March, compared with a 19.8% jump the previous month.
Finally, German core inflation is not slowing down, and is even up +0.2%.
The bond market's reaction is edifying: the German 10-year is up +10pts to 2.384%, and our OATs are up +8pts to 2.8860%.
Spain's inflation figures, published this morning, show a higher-than-expected slowdown in prices in March, due to a base effect linked to energy prices, according to the first estimate published Thursday by the national statistics institute (Ine), not to mention VAT cuts.
Calculated according to harmonized European standards, the consumer price index (IPCA) fell to +3.1% year-on-year, compared with +6% in February, while the consensus of economists was for an increase of 4%.

The first estimate of inflation in the eurozone as a whole for March will be published tomorrow at 11:00am. The consensus is for 7.1% annualized, after 8.5% in February.
Investors know that the European Central Bank (ECB) is keeping a close eye on these figures, and worse-than-expected data would leave the door open for further rate hikes this year.

In French company news, Icape Holding reports net income more than doubled (+112%) in 2022, reaching 5.3 million euros, with strong increases in EBITDA (+127% to 14.5 million) and operating income before non-recurring items (+138% to 10 million).

Saint-Gobain reports that it is the first manufacturer in the world to have carried out a test production of flat glass with more than 30% hydrogen during Research & Development (R&D) trials at its Herzogenrath site in Germany.

Finally, Alstom announced this morning that its new trains for the Barcelona metro operator TMB (Transportes Metropolitanos de Barcelona) have entered commercial service on line 3.

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