The Paris stock market ended the final session of the week down 1.43%, at 6925 points, a decline that nothing had predicted 20 minutes after opening (+1%, at 7105 points).

This was a real cold shower for investors, as the '4 Witches' session saw the 'March' contract end at its lowest point.

The CAC40 ended the week with a loss of -4%, but still retained a gain of 7% since the start of the year.

It's been a volatile week on the stock markets, oscillating between heavy setbacks and relief bounces, with often contradictory announcements about the health of the global financial system: the coin falls on the wrong side on this particular Friday.

Market participants still have to contend with a long list of concerns, ranging from the difficulties of Credit Suisse and US regional banks to interest rate hikes, not to mention the threat of a global recession.

'Compared to the period before the financial crisis, systemic risks are significantly lower, but some difficulties can still be expected', warns DWS.

The most closely watched figure today was annual inflation in the eurozone. According to Eurostat data, it was 8.5% in February 2023, compared with 8.6% in January.
Annual inflation in the European Union stood at 9.9% in February 2023, compared with 10.0% in January.

The lowest annual rates were recorded in Luxembourg (4.8%), Belgium (5.4%) and Spain (6.0%). The highest annual rates were recorded in Hungary (25.8%), Latvia (20.1%)
and the Czech Republic (18.4%).

Across the Atlantic, after rising by 0.3% in January 2023, US industrial production stagnated in February, announced the Federal Reserve.

In detail, manufacturing output rose by 0.1%. Mining and quarrying output fell by -0.6%, while utilities output rose by 0.5%. Production was 0.2% below the previous year's level.

The industrial capacity utilization rate remained stable at 78%, 1.6 points below its long-term average (1972-2022).

The index of leading indicators continued to decline in February, as announced by the Conference Board on Friday, reinforcing the scenario of a recession in the months ahead.

This index, considered to be a precursor, fell for the 11th consecutive month, posting a further decline of 0.3% after its 0.3% drop in January, in line with market expectations.

Finally, US consumer sentiment worsened in March, according to the preliminary results of the University of Michigan's monthly survey published this Friday.

The confidence index compiled by the MidWestern University fell to 63.4 from 67 in February, while economists and analysts were forecasting an unchanged index of around 67.

The component measuring consumers' judgment of their current situation deteriorated particularly sharply, dropping to 66.4 from 70.7 the previous month.

The outlook component fell to a lesser extent, to 61.5 from 64.7.

Bond markets benefited from the risk-off in the second half of the session, and thus from a flight to safety: OAT yields eased by -16pts to 2.64%, Bunds by -18pts to 2.063%, and US T-Bonds by -20pts to 3.38%.

In corporate news, EDF (stable) announced on Friday that Hydro-Québec had selected three of its wind power projects in two calls for tenders that had been launched in 2021.

Alstom (+1%) announced that it had successfully delivered the complete signaling system for the Putrajaya Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line, the second line of the Klang Valley MRT project in the Greater Kuala Lumpur region of Malaysia.

In addition, Alstom has also signed a contract with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Newark Liberty International Airport to provide operation and maintenance services for the airport's Innovia monorail, known as AirTrain Newark, for the next 7 years.


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