The Paris stock market recorded its second biggest rise of the year (after the +2.3% of January 4), with a gain of over 2% (to 7,071).

The index climbed to 7,097Pts (+2.5%).097Pts (+2.5%), representing a cumulative gain of over 4.3% in 4 sessions since a low of 6,810Pts on October 30... but volumes were unimpressive (1.6BnE in 8 hours of trading), despite a high score.
The Paris index was led by URW, which took 8.5% (at 51E) ahead of Worldline +4.6% and Téléperformance +5.3%.
The euro-Stoxx50 also posted a good +2.1% at 4.180, while Wall Street extended the previous day's rally with +1.1% on the Dow Jones, +1.4% on the S&P500 and the Nasdaq, which jumped +3.3% in 8 hours of continuous trading (watch out for Apple's quarterly results published this evening shortly after 9 p.m.).

New orders for US industry rose by a stronger-than-expected +2.8% in September, boosted mainly by a surge in aerospace orders, which soared by more than 92%.
Orders for non-aeronautical capital goods, often considered a reliable barometer of companies' investment plans, rose by 0.8%.
Despite the rebound at the end of Q3, overall orders rose by just 0.7%.
Non-farm productivity rose by 4.7% annualized in the US in Q3 2023, according to the Labor Department's preliminary estimate, following a 3.6% increase in the previous quarter.

These slightly better-than-expected productivity gains over the last quarter are based on a 5.9% rise in production, for an increase of only 1.1% in the number of hours worked.
Taking into account a 3.9% rise in hourly wages, non-farm unit labor costs in the US fell by 0.8% in Q3 2023, due to this strong rise in productivity

Wednesday evening's sharp easing in T-Bonds continued, with rates down 10pts at 4.63%: the bond market seems to have appreciated the rather accommodative tone adopted the previous day by the US Federal Reserve.

As expected, the Fed maintained its monetary policy unchanged last night, while hinting at the possibility of a further rate hike... while acknowledging that borrowing conditions are weighing on businesses and are likely to dampen the momentum of the job market.
According to analysts, the phlegm displayed by Jerome Powell during his press conference nevertheless suggests that the US central bank's tightening cycle may be over.

For this FOMC meeting, Jerome Powell was still obliged to leave some doors open for what's to come, but the sense of urgency has disappeared and we can feel a kind of serenity about the disinflation process," says Bastien Drut, Head of Strategy and Economic Research at CPR AM.
It is therefore even more likely that the rate hike cycle is over", he adds.
Rate easing is well underway in Europe: the Bund is down 4pts at 2.715%, and the French OAT is down 5.6pts at 3.3220%.
British Gilts fell -8pts to 4.4200%, as the Bank of England confirmed at midday that it would maintain its monetary policy: in view of the fall in inflation in the country and the multiple downward signals on economic activity, the BoE has enough to justify a continuation of the monetary pause begun in September.

On the European statistics front, the HCOB PMI index for French manufacturing, calculated by S&P Global, fell from 44.2 in September to 42.8 in October, thus dropping further below the 50 no-change mark and posting its lowest level since May 2020.

In the Eurozone, the HCOB PMI index for manufacturing industry posted a decline from 43.4 in September to 43.1 in October, signalling a further marked deterioration in the sector's economic situation, staying below 50 for the 16th month in a row.
The euro is not alarmed by this, and is even up +0.5% against the dollar at 1.0630: forex traders are first taking into account the nearly -30pt drop in the 10-year yield on the dollar.
The $-Index is down -0.6% at 106.25.

The European stock market continues to be animated by numerous corporate publications, with the accounts - among others - of ING, Novo Nordisk, Shell and Ferrari.

Across the Atlantic, many heavyweights are also due to report their results this Thursday, including Apple, which will unveil its much-anticipated quarterly performance after trading.

In the energy market, oil prices remained hesitant, torn between the prospect of a slowdown in the global economy and persistent tensions in the Middle East. Brent crude advanced by 1.4% to $86.1 a barrel.

In the news for French companies, Technip Energies reported EPS for the first nine months of 2023, based on "adjusted IFRS" data, down 8% to 1.15 euros, and a recurring EBIT margin that improved by 0.3 points to 7.2%, on sales down 9.4% to 4.41 billion euros.

Schneider Electric announced that, after entering into exclusive negotiations with Atos on July 3, it had finalized the acquisition of EcoAct, a specialist in climate consulting and net-zero solutions, following approval from the relevant regulatory authorities.

Finally, Alstom announced on Thursday that it had signed an eight-year extension to its rail services agreement with British operator CrossCountry.


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