After losing as much as 1.2% in the early afternoon, the Paris Bourse erased most of its losses: its decline is now limited to 0.25%, around 7,430 points, with the index still penalized by Pernod Ricard (-3.4%) and URW (-2.2%).

The market downturn reflects profit-taking and also illustrates investors' doubts about the Fed's monetary easing timetable.

On this subject, at 2.30pm, the highly scrutinized US employment report was published. According to the Labor Department, the U.S. economy generated 216,000 non-farm jobs in December 2023, a number well above market expectations, as was the case for Jefferies, which was expecting only 185,000, and which testifies to the resilience of the U.S. economy.

Prior to this report, indicators published during the week, namely weekly jobless claims and the ADP private employment survey, had already shown an easing in the US labor market.

Also in the USA, growth in service sector activity slowed in December, according to the monthly survey by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) published this Friday. The ISM services index fell to 50.6 last month, from 52.7 in November, while economists were expecting it to average around 52.

In addition, following a 3.4% decline in October 2023 (revised from an initial estimate of -3.6%), US industrial orders rose by 2.6% in November, according to the Commerce Department.

On the Old Continent, annual inflation in the eurozone is estimated at 2.9% in December 2023, marking a clear acceleration after 2.4% in November, according to a flash estimate published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Finally, in November 2023, industrial producer prices fell by 0.3% in the eurozone and 0.2% in the EU, compared with October 2023, according to estimates by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

On the bond front, the yield on ten-year Treasuries eased slightly to 3.94% (-2pts), while that on the German Bund with the same maturity settled at 2.12%.

The euro gained 0.3% against the US dollar, at around $1.098/euro.

Oil prices continued to benefit from geopolitical tensions: Brent crude gained nearly 1% to almost $78.5/barrel.

In French company news, the Stef group announces the acquisition, effective today, of Bakker Logistiek's activities in the Netherlands.

LDC reports cumulative sales for the first nine months of its 2023-24 financial year up 7.7% to 4.55 billion euros (-1.1% in volume). On a like-for-like basis, sales rose by 4.8%, despite a 1.4% drop in volumes.

While confirming its 'hold' recommendation on Pernod Ricard, Stifel has lowered its target price by 8% to 170 euros, in the wake of a reduction of around 6% in its earnings forecasts for the French spirits group.

Finally, Pernod Ricard and Rémy Cointreau are down nearly 3.4% and 10.5% respectively, while Diageo is down 1% in London, after the Chinese Ministry of Commerce today announced the launch of an anti-dumping investigation into 'spirits made from distilled wine imported from the EU and packaged in containers of less than 200 liters'.

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