The Paris Bourse ended the session down 0.38%, at 7,267 points, while Wall Street remained directionless, with the S&P500 stable, the Dow Jones -0.3% and the Nasdaq +0.2%.

In Europe, the 'fact of the day' concerns inflation figures in France, which rebounded more than expected (consumer prices are set to rise by 6.2% in February 2023, after +6% the previous month), as well as in Europe.

Still on the statistics front, the slowdown in growth in France was confirmed this morning. In the fourth quarter of 2022, France's GDP growth in volume terms slowed again (+0.1% quarter-on-quarter, after +0.2% in the third quarter), according to detailed CVS-CJO data from Insee, which thus confirms its first estimate.

With imports down (-0.4%) and exports still up (+0.5%), the contribution of foreign trade was positive (+0.3 points), as was that of changes in inventories (+0.2 points).

The rise in the inflation rate to 6.2% is attributable to the acceleration in food and services prices.
According to Insee's provisional estimate at the end of the month, prices of manufactured goods are set to rise year-on-year at a similar pace to the previous month, while energy prices are expected to slow.

French household consumption expenditure on goods will rise sharply over one month, by 1.5% in volume terms, following a fall of 1.6% in December 2022 (revised from an initial estimate of -1.3%), according to Insee's CVS-CJO data.
This rebound is mainly due to the strong increase in energy consumption (+4%) as a result of the energy voucher scheme.

Finally, in January 2023, producer prices in French industry accelerated over one month (+1.6% after +1%), due to the strong acceleration in those for products destined for the French market (+2.7%), while those for products destined for foreign markets fell (-1.7%).

The context also remains marked by uncertainties linked to the evolution of central banks' monetary policies: "final rate" targets have risen by +50 points compared with early January (5.60% for the FED and 4% for the ECB).

On the bond front, the deterioration continues, with long yields flirting with their worst levels since late December and even mid-October: our OATs were up to +12pts at 3.178% around 3.45pm (the worst level for 12 years, with the 2-year at 3.25%), Bunds +11pts at 2.697%, Italian BTPs +13.5pts at 4.558%, and British Gilts +11.5pts at 3.9250%.

US T-Bonds fared best with +3pts to 3.9530%, but the '6 months' posted 5.16% and the '1 year' 5.05%.

In company news, Casino is forecasting sales of €33.6 billion for 2022, up 10% on a reported basis and 5.2% on a like-for-like basis, "driven by Latin America and buoyant formats in France, in an environment marked by inflation".

EDF announced on Tuesday the conversion of 40% of its OCEANE bonds maturing in 2024, in accordance with a request made by the French government as part of the process of renationalizing the electricity company.

AXA announced the successful sale of 100 million Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena shares, representing approximately 7.94% of the Italian bank's capital, at a price of 2.33 euros per share, for a total amount of 233 million euros.

Finally, Stellantis announced on Tuesday its intention to invest $155 million in three Indiana plants to support its electrification projects in North America.


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