Paris has been heavy since 3.15pm (-0.8%), and this has not been helped by the reopening of Wall-Street, which is still holding firm after Friday's euphoria (+1.5% on the S&P500, +2% on the Dow Jones).
Although investors have been reassured by the agreement on US debt and the easing of inflation in Europe, persistent uncertainties about growth are keeping them on their toes.
No positive impact either from Tokyo's 2.2% rise this morning, with the Nikkei hitting a new 33-year high of 32,217 (and closing at the day's high).

It's "PMI day": growth in the US service sector accelerated in May, according to S&P Global.

The PMI index compiled by the economic research firm rose to 54.9 last month, compared with 53.6 in April and 55.1 in the preliminary "flash" version previously announced.

With a gain of +1.3Pt, this would be the strongest rise since April 2022.

For Chris Williamson, chief economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, the strength of the service sector - which accounts for over 75% of US activity - contrasts with the sluggishness of manufacturing.

Sectors such as travel, tourism, entertainment and leisure are benefiting from a mini post-pandemic 'boom', with demand shifting from goods to services", he explains.

In addition, US industrial orders rose by 0.4% in April, according to figures published by the Commerce Department (after a 0.6% rise in March, revised from the +0.9% initially announced).

Industrial deliveries, meanwhile, recorded a further decline, the fifth in the space of six months, at -0.4%.

The morning in Europe was punctuated by the results of the monthly purchasing managers' surveys (PMI) on services activity in the major eurozone economies.

The HCOB composite PMI index of overall activity in the eurozone fell from 54.1 in April to 52.8 in May, signalling a three-month low in private sector activity in the region.

Growth in services activity in France slowed significantly in May, show the final results of the monthly PMI survey from S&P Global and Hamburg Commercial Bank published on Monday. The PMI HCOB index of activity in the sector came in at 52.5 last month, down on its April level of 54.6 and slightly below its first estimate of 52.8, published on May 23.

As on Friday, the return of investors to risky assets slightly penalized bond markets, with T-Bond yields remaining unchanged, German Bunds and our OATs pulling back +5pts to 2.358% and 2.904% respectively.
On the energy front, oil prices are back on the rise, as OPEC and its allies, united under the name OPEC+, announced on Sunday their intention to cut production by -1 million barrels/day in response to the recent downturn in crude prices. Since January 1, no less than 4% of production has been withdrawn from the physical market, but this has failed to halt the downward spiral.
The obvious conclusion is that demand will be weaker than anticipated in the 1st half of 2023.

In the wake of this decision, Brent crude oil climbed by more than 1.2% to $77.2 a barrel, while US light crude (WTI, West Texas Intermediate) rebounded by 1.1% above $72.75.

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