The Paris Bourse ended the session down 0.48% at 7,013 points, penalized in particular by the declines of Worldline (-4.4%), URW (-3.7%) and Teleperformance (-3.1%), whose quarterly results are due this evening.

It was a quiet session on the statistics front, with the only macro-economic indicator of the day being the HCOB 'composite PMI' index of global activity in France: this recovered very slightly from 44.1 in September (a 34-month low) to 44.6 in October, but the 'composite' remains anchored well below the median threshold of 50.

Not only is the current level of activity deteriorating, but above all the outlook is poor, given the collapse in demand, which is beginning to have negative consequences for employment", analyze the teams at La Financière de l'Echiquier.

On the bond front, T-Bonds rallied by +8pts to 4.63%, while in Europe, Bunds rose by +10pts to 2.737%, OATs by +10pts to 3.332%... and Italian BTPs by +12pts to 4.565%.

Investors may have got a little carried away on Friday with the US employment figures (NFP), which showed that the US economy was being driven by a "goldilocks" economy, characterized by better-controlled inflation and growth that was neither too fast nor too slow.

After months of uncertainty, the normalization of monetary policy seems set to become the dominant theme for the end of 2023.

Note that the euro is stabilizing against the greenback, at $1.07/euro, while the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil is up 1%, at $86.

In French company news, Française des Jeux (FDJ) announced the completion of its acquisition of Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI), the operator with exclusive rights to operate the Irish national lottery until 2034, following authorization from the national regulator last October.

In a business update, Orpea announces an increase in sales of over 11%, and updates its financial projections, now expecting EBITDAR for 2023 to be at the lower end of the range of 705 to 750 million euros communicated on July 13.

Finally, as part of its commitment to sustainable development, Verallia announces that it has finalized the acquisition of three Santaolalla Group companies (Ecosan Ambiental, Ecolabora and Vidrologic) in Spain and Portugal.

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