The Paris Bourse closed the session with a 0.25% gain, at 7317 points, driven by Stellantis (+3.6%) and Axa (+3.2%), while Wall Street was generally flat, with the S&P500 and Nasdaq hovering around their equilibrium points.

Investors today learned of the 2.7% rise in US GDP in Q4 2022 (vs. 2.9% expected), according to the Commerce Department's second estimate.
Also on the other side of the Atlantic, Q4 consumer spending was revised down sharply from +2.1% to +1.4%, and unemployment continued to fall, with weekly registrations down -3.000, to 292,000, a near 50-year low.

The market environment remains quite logically disturbed by these robust employment figures: fears of further rate hikes could rock an economy which for the moment seems to be escaping recession.

Last night's publication of the minutes of the latest meeting of the Fed's Monetary Policy Committee (FOMC) showed that several Fed officials were still in favor of a further 50 basis point interest rate hike in view of persistently high inflation.

Investors felt, however, that the 'minutes' provided no evidence to alter their rate expectations, which have been significantly revised upwards in recent weeks.

Whereas at the end of January, the Fed's final rate forecast was estimated at 4.9% for June, markets are now expecting a final rate of over 5.3% in July, and perhaps even 5.60%.

As William De Vijlder, chief economist at BNP Paribas, points out, "the higher the final rate, the greater the likelihood of a bumpy landing".

On the rates front, the day got off to a cautious start, but buyers took the upper hand and our OATs erased 7.5pts to 2.945%, and Bunds 6.6pts to 2.471%.

In the United States, the improvement remains more modest, with the 10-year yield down 3 pts at 3.923%, but the 1-year yield holding steady at around 5.05/5.06% after the 2:30 p.m. figures.

In corporate news, EssilorLuxottica claims a record 2022, with adjusted net income (group share) up 23.3% to 2.86 billion euros and adjusted operating margin at 16.8%, an improvement of 70 basis points on pro forma 2021.

Arkema reports a 30.2% increase in net income before non-recurring items to €1.17 billion, or €15.75 per share, for 2022, and an all-time high EBITDA of €2.11 billion, up 22.2%, for an improved margin of 0.2 points to 18.3%.

Bouygues reported a 13.5% decline in net income (group share) to €973 million for 2022, but confirmed that it had achieved its annual targets, with operating income before non-recurring items (excluding Equans) up by €152 million and sales up by 8%.

Finally, Getlink has announced net income of 252 million euros for 2022, compared with a loss of 229 million the previous year, and tripled EBITDA (+198%) to 886 million, after a provision of 142 million linked to the future sharing of ElecLink profits.

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