The CAC40 reluctantly consolidates, by just -0.2%, after three consecutive sessions of gains (cumulative gain of +4.5%), while the Euro-Stoxx50 and DAX40 drop 0.3%.
London stands out with +0.8% after a "cautious" and lacklustre start to the year.
Eurozone indices are proving very resilient, with Wall Street down sharply by -1.2% on the Dow Jones and the &P500 (3,810), and the Nasdaq losing -1.4% (and going negative on 2023).

The FED's 'minutes' confirmed unambiguously that no rate cut is on the agenda, either at the beginning of 2023 or for the rest of the year.
The consensus is now for 2 X 25Pts by March, and a +50Pts hike in early February cannot be formally ruled out.

The strength of the labor market remains one of the FED's compass points (and this is also the case for Janet Yellen), and today's figures will not reassure those who were hoping for a rise in US unemployment: the US private sector created 235.000 jobs in December 2022, well above economists' expectations (+160,000), according to the monthly survey published by human resources services firm ADP.
In the same vein of 'full employment', US jobless claims fell by -19,000 in the week to December 26, to 204,000 from 223,000 (revised from the initial estimate of 225,000) the previous week, according to the Labor Department.

The four-week moving average - considered a better indicator of the underlying trend in the job market - showed a week-on-week decline of 6,750 to 213,750.

To make matters worse (for those hoping for 'bad news'), the final estimate of the PMI global activity index was raised from 44.4 to 44.7.

The US trade deficit narrowed sharply to $61.5 billion in November 2022, from the previous month's $77.8 billion (which was revised from an initial estimate of $78.2 billion), according to the Commerce Department.

This 21% month-on-month drop, much larger than the market had expected, reflects a 6.4% contraction in imports of goods and services, to $313.4 billion, for a mere 2% drop in exports, to $251.9 billion.


In Europe this time, producer prices in the eurozone fell by more than expected in November compared with the previous month, confirming the trend towards easing inflationary pressures in the region.

Falling energy prices in particular caused factory gate prices to drop by 0.9% in November, according to figures published by Eurostat on Thursday.

Over the year to the end of November, producer prices were up by 27.1%, whereas economists were expecting an average rise of 27.5% over one year.

Energy costs were 2.2% lower in November than in October, a month in which they had already fallen by 7.4%.

Year-on-year, energy cost inflation was down to 55.7%, compared with +117% in August.

Investors will have even more indicators to get their teeth into tomorrow, with inflation figures for the eurozone and the closely-watched US job creation figures (NFP).

All the figures published this Thursday are putting pressure on yields: our OATs are +4pts to 2.83%, Bunds +4pts to 2.31%, US T-Bonds +5pts to 3.75%.

On the energy market, oil prices are stagnating ($77.9 for Brent) as we await this afternoon's release of US crude inventories, with US WTI up 1% to $73.6 a barrel and Brent up 1.2% to $79.

In company news, Technip Energies (+4%) reports that it has won a "major contract" (i.e. representing between 250 and 500 million euros in sales, according to the Group's terminology) for project management consulting (PMC) with Kuwait Oil Company (KOC).

Voltalia has announced that by the end of 2022 it will have a portfolio of power plants in operation or under construction totalling 2.6 gigawatts, a year ahead of its target, and that last year it won long-term power sales contracts for a total of 1.1 gigawatts.

Interparfums once again raised its sales forecast for the past year on Thursday, on the back of 'still high' demand and an 'extremely satisfactory' rate of delivery in the final weeks of the year.

Finally, Voyager Space announced on Wednesday that it would be collaborating with Airbus Defence and Space on the Starlab project, the future commercial space station to be developed in Earth orbit.

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