The Paris Bourse ended the final session of the week with a gain of 0.28%, at 7,596 points, aided by Alstom (+3.5%), STMicro (+2.7%) and Publicis (+1.6%).

The Paris index gained a little over 1% over the past week, bringing its year-to-date gain to over 17%.

The prospect of an imminent rate cut in the US continues to fuel investors' appetite for risk.

According to the CME Group's FedWatch barometer, market participants now estimate the probability of a rate cut in the US at 60% in March. This is lower than the previous day (64.7%), but much higher than a month ago (24%).

The markets also detected in Jerome Powell's comments a "Goldilocks" scenario, i.e. robust growth and inflation almost under control: a real fairy tale.

The latest indicators published on Friday are rather mixed, but they do not call into question the scenario of a soft landing for growth.

The Empire State index - which measures manufacturing activity in New York State - nevertheless fell 24 points in December to -14.5.
A figure offset by the rise in private-sector growth: S&P Global published a composite PMI index of 51 flash estimates, compared with 50.7 final estimates for the previous month.

The acceleration in production is supported by a more rapid increase in new orders since July", points out S&P Global, adding, however, that cost pressures are mounting.

US industrial production also rebounded by 0.2% in November, after falling by 0.9% the previous month (revised from an initial estimate of -0.6%), driven in particular by an automotive sector that saw its output climb by 7.1%.

Still on the statistical front, the HCOB flash composite PMI index of overall activity in France fell from 44.6 in November to 43.7 in December, signalling a marked deterioration in business conditions in the French private sector in December.

Reflecting the sharpest decline in overall activity since November 2020, this trend can be explained by an unfavorable demand environment, reduced customer purchasing power and the general sluggishness of the economy, according to the companies surveyed.

The same trend can be seen in the Eurozone, where the HCOB composite PMI flash index for overall activity fell from 47.6 in November to 47 in December, highlighting a decline in activity among the region's private companies for the seventh consecutive month.

Brent crude remained stable at around $76.5 a barrel, while the euro lost 0.7% against the greenback to $1.09/euro, in response to macroeconomic indicators that reinforced investors' expectations of an ECB rate cut.

Investors' attraction to equity markets has not dampened their appetite for US Treasury bonds, whose 10-year yield is down again, by -3pts to 3.9%.

The easing is even more marked in Europe, with Bunds at 2.02% (-8pts) and OATs at 2.551% (-10pts), a dizzying weekly decline of -28pts.

In news from French companies, Sanofi announces that the CHMP of the European Medicines Agency has issued a positive opinion on Fexinidazole Winthrop as the first oral treatment for the acute form of sleeping sickness, endemic in East and Southern Africa.

Saint-Gobain announces that it has reached an agreement to acquire a majority stake in IMPTEK Chova del Ecuador, a leading player in the Ecuadorian construction chemicals market providing waterproofing solutions.

TotalEnergies announces the start of construction, in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, of a major hybrid renewable project comprising a 216 MW solar power plant and a 500 MWh battery storage system.

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