The Paris Bourse ended the session down 0.79%, at 7203 points, penalized in particular by TotalEnergies (-2.5%) and by the downturn in the banking sector, with BNP Paribas at -2.3%, Société Générale at -2.2% and Crédit Agricole at -1.8%.

Since Monday, and after four consecutive sessions of consolidation, the Paris index has lost nearly 2.5%% in a context that remains marked by the recent announcements of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who clearly hinted that the central bank was not finished with rate hikes in view of persistent inflation.

Consequently, the spectre of the US economy's imminent entry into recession is increasingly present, inhibiting investors and halting any hint of risk-taking.

On the statistics front, US sales of existing homes rose to 4.30 million units in May at an annualized rate (consensus 4.25 million after 4.29 million in April).

In addition, the US index of leading indicators fell slightly less than expected in May, reported the Conference Board employers' organization on Thursday. The index fell by 0.7% to 106.7 last month, whereas economists were forecasting a 0.6% drop on average.

In view of tighter interest rates and persistent inflation, the ConfBoard is now forecasting a US recession lasting from the third quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024.

Also on the other side of the Atlantic, the weekly number of new jobless claims was stable in the week ending June 12, at 264,000, according to the Labor Department (the previous week's figure was revised upwards from 262,000 to 264,000).

In Europe, the business climate in France remained stable in June, with the synthetic indicator calculated by Insee (based on responses from business leaders in the main market sectors) remaining at 100, its long-term average, while the indicator for industry recovered from 99 to 101.

In the UK, the Bank of England's (BoE) monetary policy statement published at lunchtime confirmed expectations: the BoE added +50pts to 5%.

In addition, British public debt has just exceeded 100% of GDP, prompting a sharp deterioration in refinancing conditions, with 10-year Gilts yielding over 4.45% (compared with 4.402% the previous day).
Note the radical change of strategy in Turkey: the central bank raised its key rate from 8.5% to 15%, in a quasi-Volckerian move.

The repercussions of Jerome Powell's statements remained limited in scope on the bond market (T-Bond at 3.77% vs. 3.722%), and the +5/-5 basis point swings continued in Europe, in the mode of "what one day does, the next undoes": Bunds thus fell back from 2.43% to 2.48%... and are going nowhere.
Ditto for our OATs, which are back from 2.958% to 3.011%, and Italian BTPs (from 4.052% to 4.103%).

In French company news, Thales reports that it has been chosen by Japan-based eVTOL aircraft manufacturer SkyDrive to supply its FlytRise flight control system for its future three-seat, zero-emission production eVTOL aircraft.

Engie says it has invested, through its Engie New Ventures venture capital fund, in TreaTech, a Swiss start-up specializing in biogas production. The energy group explains that it has closed a €9 million financing round for TreaTech.

In order to strengthen its liquidity, Casino has announced the sale of its remaining stake in Assaí, i.e. 57,582,850 shares representing 11.7% of the capital of this Brazilian cash & carry retailer.

Finally, LanzaJet announced on Thursday the signature of a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

The European aircraft manufacturer also announced that its subsidiary Airbus Flight Academy Europe, which provides training services for pilots and cadets of the French Armed Forces, had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Aura Aero, a designer of electric-powered aircraft.



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