The Paris Bourse ended the session down 1.56%, at 7508 pts, penalized by the sharp declines of Dassault Systèmes (-5.1%), Saint-Gobain (-3.1%) and Capgemini (-3.2%).

The downturn was general, with 38 of the 40 CAC stocks posting declines, with only Stellantis and Orange pulling ahead (modestly), gaining +0.3% and +0.5% respectively.

Jerome Powell's speech to the Senate clearly failed to convince investors, who were expecting more from the Fed Chairman.

Share prices became heavier at the time of the Federal Reserve Chairman's speech to the House of Representatives, which participants seemed to find hard to decipher.

Although he stressed that the labor market was tending to slow down, Jerome Powell also pointed out that the unemployment rate, at 4.1%, was at a particularly low level.

These declines are weighing on the Euro-Stoxx50, which is now down -1.4% and in a delicate situation, in contact with the major support of 4,900pts.

"It's clear that the particular political context in France will continue to weigh on stock market momentum", warns Christopher Dembik, Investment Strategy Advisor at Pictet AM.

But we must be wary of exaggerating the impact of politics on the CAC 40's performance", he adds.

Across the Atlantic, Wall Street continues to set record after record, with the Nasdaq Composite hitting its 26th all-time high (6th in a row), having just peaked at 18,510.
The S&P 500 is not to be outdone, setting its 36th record since January 1 (at 5,488)... and the Dow Jones continues to struggle with -0.3%

However, the coming days are likely to see a new bout of volatility, with the publication of the latest US inflation figures on Thursday, which will be closely watched by investors.

According to the Fedwatch barometer, traders are currently expecting a rate cut in September, with a probability of almost 74%.

Investors are also counting on a promising crop of second-quarter results to restore some of the optimism that has characterized stock markets since the start of the year.

The season kicks off in earnest on Friday, with the accounts of major US banks JP Morgan, Citi and Wells Fargo.

According to FactSet data, analysts expect US corporate earnings to rise by 8.8% year-on-year, which would be their best performance since early 2022.

Bond markets suddenly become less confident in the late afternoon: German Bunds down +4pts to 2.5590%, our OATs +8.5pts to 3.258.
The spread with the Bund retraces to almost 70 basis points.

In French company news, Dassault Systèmes has announced that it is adjusting its annual guidance, now targeting total sales growth of between 6 and 8% (compared with 8-10% previously), as well as EPS growth of 8 to 11% (instead of 10-12%).

Saint-Gobain has announced that it has finalized the acquisition of CSR Limited, a leading player in building materials in Australia with sales of A$1.9 billion and an EBITDA margin of around 18% for its last financial year.

Stellantis said on Tuesday that it plans to equip more models with its hybrid powertrain technology to meet growing demand from its European customers.

Saft announced that it will supply MDA Space Ltd with more than 250 rechargeable lithium-ion batteries to power the MDA Aurora product range, which supports the transition from analog to digital satellite technology.


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