European stock markets ended the day lower on Friday, and Wall Street was also in the red late morning in New York, in a session dominated by renewed uncertainty about the banks, with attacks on Deutsche Bank shares despite attempts by the authorities to reassure investors.

In Paris, the CAC 40 ended with a loss of 1.74% at 7,015.10 points. The British Footsie shed 1.26% and the German Dax gave up 1.66%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index was down 1.82%. The FTSEurofirst 300 and Stoxx 600 were each down 1.37%.

Over the week as a whole, however, the latter gained 0.87% and the CAC 40 1.29%.

Following the setbacks suffered by SVB, Signature Bank and Credit Suisse, investors fear that Deutsche Bank is next on the list. Shares in Germany's leading bank sold off massively on Friday, while the yield on its Additional Tier 1 (AT1) debt and the cost of insuring against default risk (CDS) rose sharply.

Faced with renewed stress on the markets, Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, assured us on Friday that banks in the eurozone were robust and had solid positions in terms of capital and liquidity. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Emmanuel Macron, meeting in Brussels for a summit of European Union leaders, concurred. The previous day, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had reaffirmed her readiness to take further measures on American bank deposits.

"There's no doubt that global regulators and central banks are trying to allay any concerns, but I'm not sure people are entirely convinced," pointed out Brandon Pizzurro, Chief Investment Officer at Guidestone Capital Management.

In a sign of nervousness, the US volatility index stood at 22.67 points, while its European counterpart ended the day up 15.36% at 24.88 points.

VALUES IN EUROPE

Europe's banking sector (-3.78%) posted the steepest sectoral fall and a third consecutive weekly decline (-1.58%), with Deutsche Bank in particular tumbling 8.53%.

Credit Suisse and UBS lost 5.19% and 3.55% respectively, further penalized by news of a possible investigation by US authorities into alleged aid to Russian oligarchs.

In Paris, Crédit Agricole, BNP Paribas and Société Générale fell by 2.06% to 6.13%.

On the SBF 120, Casino plunged 16.11% after its credit rating was downgraded by Moody's, and its parent company, Rallye, shed 16.08%, with the rating agency citing loss of market share, poor liquidity and high debt.

ON WALL STREET

At the time of closing in Europe, the Dow Jones was down 0.06%, the Standard & Poor's 500 0.02% and the Nasdaq 0.33%, in a volatile session.

The main S&P-500 sectors were in the red, with a 0.64% decline for financials and a 1.37% drop for banks.

Major US banks JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank Of America lost 0.63% to 2.40%, while several regional banks such as First Republic Bank, Pacwest Bancorp and Western Alliance Bancorp also lost ground.

INDICATORS OF THE DAY

Eurozone PMIs showed an unexpected acceleration in private-sector activity growth in March, with the composite index rising to 54.1 from 52.0 in February.

In Great Britain, the composite PMI slowed to 52.2, but professionals became more optimistic about their outlook for the year ahead.

In the United States, economic activity accelerated in March with a composite PMI at 53.3 after 50.1 in February, while new orders rebounded for the first time in six months to 51.2 after 48.5 in February, according to official data.

FOREIGN CURRENCIES Risk aversion pulls the dollar up 0.57% against a basket of reference currencies, while the euro trades at $1.076 (-0.65%), despite good PMI figures in Europe.

RATES

The yield on ten-year US Treasury bonds fell by around three basis points to 3.36%, and the two-year yield by around five basis points to 3.74%, on the prospect of Fed rate moderation in view of the banking environment.

In Europe, the decline was even more pronounced, with the ten-year German Bund yield down 6.2 basis points to 2.12%, and the two-year down 12.1 basis points to 2.37%.

OIL

Oil prices were hit by concerns for the banking sector and statements by US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on the country's strategic crude reserves, which clouded the outlook for demand.

Brent crude lost 1.57% to $74.72 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) 1.47% to $68.93.

METALS

Gold, a safe-haven asset, topped the $2,000 mark on Friday, before falling back to $1,986.47 (-0.35%) an ounce at the close of the European stock markets in an equally volatile session.

TO BE CONTINUED ON MONDAY:

THE SITUATION ON THE MARKETS:

(Some data may be slightly delayed)

CLOSING IN

EUROPE

Indices Last Var. Var. % YTD

Points

Eurofirst 300 1741.85 -22.70 -1.29% +3.78%

Eurostoxx 50 4130.62 -76.52 -1.82% +8.88%

CAC 40 7015.10 -124.15 -1.74% +8.36%

Dax 30 14957.23 -253.16 -1.66% +7.42%

FTSE 7405.45 -94.15 -1.26% -0.62%

SMI 10634.04 -84.50 -0.79% -0.89%

Stocks to watch in Paris and elsewhere

Europe: [WATCH/LFR]

THE TREND A

WALL STREET

Indices Last Var. Var. % YTD

Points

Dow Jones 32105.63 +0.38 +0.00% -3.14

S&P-500 3947.85 -0.87 -0.02% +2.82%

Nasdaq 11742.66 -44.74 -0.38% +12.19%

Nasdaq 100 12680.09 -49.15 -0.39% +15.91%

Wall Street session report

Street: [.NFR]

"The Day Ahead" - The next update

Wall Street session [DAY/US]

CHANGES

Price Watch % change YTD

Euro/Dlr 1.0758 1.0830 -0.66% +0.52%

Dlr/Yen 130.75 130.81 -0.05% -0.27%

Euro/Yen 140.69 141.73 -0.73% +0.28%

Dlr/CHF 0.9183 0.9164 +0.21% -0.66%

Euro/CHF 0.9881 0.9925 -0.44% -0.14%

Stg/Dlr 1.2217 1.2285 -0.55% +0.99%

Index $ 103.1140 102.5320 +0.57% +7.22

OR

Price Eve Var. % YTD

Spot Gold 1986.77 1993.50 -0.34% +30.97

RATES

Last Var. Spread/Bund

(pts)

Future Bund 137.92 +0.88

Bund 10 years 2.13 +0.00

Bund 2 years 2.40 +0.02

OAT 10 years 2.66 -0.00 +52.90

Treasury 10 yrs 3.37 -0.04

Treasury 2 years 3.76 -0.05

OIL

Price Previous Var Var.% YTD

t

Light crude US 69.16 69.96 -0.80 -1.14% +12.99%

Brent 74.91 75.91 -1.00 -1.32% +13.45% US

(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Tangi Salaün)

by Claude Chendjou