After spending most of the day in positive territory, the Paris Bourse entered a contraction zone during the last hour of trading, ending the session down 0.46% at 7,234 points, penalized in particular by the decline of banking stocks such as BNP Paribas (-4.2%), Société Générale (-2.8%) and Crédit Agricole (-1.5%).

The day was punctuated by the publication of several statistics: in France, the manufacturing sector contracted, with the overall S&P PMI index falling from 50.5 in January to 47.4 in February.

The index was dragged down by new orders, whose contraction accelerated for the first time since October 2022. This deterioration was reflected in production levels, which fell for the ninth consecutive month.

In the United States, manufacturing activity continued to contract, from 47.7 in January to 47.4 in February, but the deceleration was slightly less marked than in January, shows the monthly ISM survey published this Wednesday.

The prices paid sub-index, which is closely watched at a time of rising inflation, jumped to 51.3 from 44.5 the previous month.

A slightly different picture emerges from the US manufacturing PMI, with the S&P Global PMI finally coming in at 47.3, compared with a flash estimate of 47.8 and 46.9 the previous month.

The surveyors point out that the drop in new sales has led to a further decline in production, albeit at a slower pace against a backdrop of better conditions in the supply chain.

On the bond market, long-term European yields are back on the rise, hitting new multi-year highs.

The yield on the 10-year German Bund, Europe's benchmark, has jumped +8pts to 2.714%.
Our OATs set a new ceiling of almost 3.2% (tested during the session) with +8.3Pts to 3.194%

Across the Atlantic, the yield on 10-year Treasuries rebounded from 3.91% to 3.99%, after peaking at over 3.97% yesterday, as the latest US indicators reinforced the prospect of a recession, and hence a pause in the Fed's rate hike cycle.

If the US economy starts to weaken, this should reduce the pressure on bond yields and weaken the US dollar", reminds Steven Bell, Chief Economist at Columbia Threadneedle.

The dollar nevertheless suffered a heavy pullback of -0.6% towards 1.0655/E.

In company news, Eurofins Scientific (-12.1%) reports adjusted net profit for 2022 down 35% to 683 million euros, or 3.43 euros per share, and adjusted EBITDA down 20% to 1.51 billion, representing a margin down 5.8 points to 22.5%.

Atos (+5%) reported a net loss for 2022 of 1.01 billion euros, down from 2.96 billion euros the previous year, but an operating margin down 0.4 points to 3.1% of sales.

For the past year, Neoen reported a 19% increase in adjusted net income to 48 million euros, and a 38% increase in adjusted EBITDA to 414 million, "in line with the announced target".

By 2030, Neoen (-13.9%) plans to reach a target capacity in operation or under construction of over 20 GW. It also reiterates its ambition to achieve a rate of new project wins of at least 2 GW per year from 2025 onwards.

Stellantis reports that Peugeot leads the French passenger car market in February and for the first two months of 2023 as a whole. In a PC market up 9.1%, Peugeot has a market share of 15.8%.

Finally, Saint-Gobain announces that it has finalized the sale, announced on December 12, of all its UK trading brands - including building materials and wood distributor Jewson - to the Stark Group.

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