The Paris Bourse doubled its losses between 2:30 and 3:00 pm since 2:30 pm - following the publication of the January CPI in the United States - but the counters were stuck at -1%... and that's where it stands.

The CAC40 escaped a dip below 7,600 thanks to Michelin's surge (+6%) following its results published yesterday evening (see below)... and trading volumes remained mediocre, with 1.35MnsE traded around 5.00 pm.
On Wall Street, the S&P500 also plunged from -1.2% to -1.8% at the opening, and 90 minutes later, the scores 'harmonized' with an average decline of -1.2%, the Nasdaq-100 falling from -1.8% to -1.3%, and the Dow Jones posting -1.2%.
The S&P500 fell by -1.1% in the wake of the banks and real estate specialists (property stocks, homebuilders).

Investors are punished by the US inflation figures published at 2.30pm: consumer prices rose by 0.3% (vs. +0.2% estimated) in January, i.e. an annualized rate of 3.1 (vs. 3.4% the previous month).
The core underlying inflation rate (excluding food and energy) came in at +0.4% last month (above the median forecast of +0.3%), i.e. an annual core inflation rate unchanged at 3.9%.

T-Bond yields jumped +11pts to 4.2820% (+45pts since February 1), the '2-yr flies +15pts to 4.6200% (worst score since November 30, 2023 and the morning of December 13 respectively)... and the '30-yr climbs +12pts to 4.45% (worst score since December 4, 2023 and level 50pts above the 12/27/2023 low).
This rise in yields propelled the Dollar 0.5% above its levels of the previous day (a completely 'flat' session), and the Euro retreated -0.6% to $1.0715.
Gold naturally suffered from the greenback's firmness, dropping -0.7% to $2,000 'all round'.
Conversely, oil is close to $83 a barrel in London and up +0.8% on the NYMEX to $77.5.

Investors were hoping that the consumer price index would fall just below the psychological threshold of 3% over one year.

For several weeks, inflation had been less of a concern for investors, who were more focused on the strength of activity and good corporate results.

But the strength of more persistent inflation than anticipated is leading investors to push back the horizon for the Federal Reserve's first rate cut (now less than 50% for May).

The market will have to wait to see the 'pivot'. It certainly won't be in March, and it's looking less and less likely in May", stresses Christopher Dembik, Investment Strategy Consultant at Pictet Asset Management.

Published earlier in the morning, the ZEW index of business sentiment in Germany picked up sharply, gaining a further 4.7 points in February to stand at +19.9: this actually concerns the 'outlook' (2/3 of business leaders are betting everything on the ECB rate cut this summer), as for the 'present situation', the ZEW continues to deteriorate: -4.4 points to -81.7, the lowest since June 2020.

In France, the unemployment rate in France (excluding Mayotte) as defined by the ILO (International Labour Office) came out at 7.5% of the working population in the last quarter of 2023, stable compared with the third quarter, whose estimate was raised by 0.1 points to 7.5%.

In news from French companies, Fnac Darty announced that the Supreme Court in London has definitively closed the litigation linked to the sale of Comet Group Limited in 2012.

On Tuesday, Wendel denied that it had acquired a stake in the insurance brokerage group Diot-Siaci, saying that it had not concluded any transaction involving the company's capital.

The Airwell Group has announced that it is taking a 13% stake in Synerpod, a French start-up that aims to massify energy renovation in collective and individual housing.

Lastly, Believe shares gained nearly 19% this morning, closing in on the level corresponding to the price proposed by a consortium with a view to taking control of the group.

Up for the seventh month in a row, the ZEW economic sentiment index for Germany gained a further 4.7 points in February to stand at +19.9, returning to its highest level for a year.

This further improvement in the expectations of German financial market experts was nevertheless accompanied by a deterioration in their assessment of the current situation, with the corresponding index down 4.4 points to -81.7, the lowest since June 2020.

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