The Paris Bourse ended the session with a gain of 0.67%, at 7,373 points, with buyers encouraged by the slight fall in bond yields in Europe: our OATs shed -2.8pts, Bunds shed -4.5pts to 2.5210% and US T-Bonds shed -8.5pts to 4.096%.

On the statistics front, US consumer confidence fell from 114 to 106.1 in August, whereas economists were forecasting 116 after the initially announced figure of 117 (1st estimate).

The index measuring consumers' judgment of their current situation dropped to 144.8, after 153 in July, while that of their expectations fell to 80.2 from 88 last month.

In its press release, the ConfBoard points out that an expectations sub-index below the 80-point threshold is a harbinger of recession, a scenario which the organization continues to anticipate between now and the end of the year.

Housing prices in the USA rose by 0.9% in June (in the top 20 US metropolitan areas) compared with the previous month, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller indices.

On a year-on-year basis, however, prices contracted by 1.2% in June, although this was less than the 1.7% fall in May, with increases in Chicago (+4.2%), Cleveland (+4.1%) and New York (+3.4%) in particular.

Traders remain torn between the prospect of a rate hike in early November in the United States (consensus 60%), and signs of a slowdown in the global economy that could lead central banks to ease the cost of money.

One indicator remains on today's menu: the Conference Board's consumer confidence index, which will measure the impact of the recent rise in gasoline prices on US household morale.

In the meantime, the dollar is eroding slightly against the euro, down 0.3% to 1.0850.

In French company news, Lacroix last night reported Q2 sales of €193m, up 11.4% on the same period in 2022.

This morning, Voltalia announced the full commissioning of its new Garrido complex in Portugal, comprising five solar power plants with a total capacity of 50.6 megawatts, for which construction was launched in September 2022.

Technip Energies reports that it has won a 'significant' contract (between 50 and 250 million euros in sales, depending on its terminology) from bp for a hydrogen production unit at its Kwinana biorefinery in Western Australia.

Freelance.com reports first-half 2023 sales of 419.4 million euros, up 10% year-on-year, with organic growth of 18% in France more than offsetting a 4% decline internationally.

Finally, Alstom announces the inauguration of a site in Astana (Kazakhstan) to produce and maintain bogies for all types of rail vehicles throughout their lifecycle.

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