The Paris Bourse ended the day almost perfectly balanced, at 8151 points (-0.02%), torn between the performances of Renault (+3.1%) and Eurofins Scientific (+1.6%) on the one hand, and the declines of Carrefour (-2.8%) and EssilorLuxottica (-2.3%) on the other.

This morning, investors took note of a series of statistics: the US trade deficit widened to $68.9 billion in February, compared with $67.6 billion the previous month (which was revised from an initial estimate of $67.4 billion), according to the Commerce Department.

This 1.9% month-on-month increase in the deficit reflects a 2.2% rise in US imports of goods and services, to $331.9 billion, while exports rose by 2.3% to $263 billion.

The Labor Department reported 221,000 new US jobless claims for the week ending March 25, up 9,000 on the previous week's revised figure (212,000 instead of 210,000).

Macro index publications began this morning with the HCOB PMI composite index of overall activity in France: it recovered from 48.1 in February to 48.3 in March, signalling the smallest drop in private sector activity since the start of the current period of contraction, which began ten months ago.

In contrast to the decline in activity, the contraction in overall new business volumes accelerated across the private sector as a whole, reflecting an accentuated downturn in demand in both manufacturing and services.

In the Eurozone this time, the HCOB composite PMI index for overall activity came in at 50.3 in March, compared with 49.2 in February.
Growth in the private sector in March was only marginal, however, as continued contraction in the manufacturing sector offset the impact of only moderate growth in the services sector.

Bond markets were little changed after the flurry of figures detailed above: US T-Bonds, which eased -1.5Pt to 4.34%, fluctuated between 4.33 and 4.38% over the hours.
Our OATs erased -5Pts to 2.861%, Bunds -4Pts to 2.36% and British Gilts remained unchanged at 4.056%.

Gold, meanwhile, is approaching $2,300 an ounce ($2,292, +0.5%), while the euro continues to rally against the dollar, gaining a further +0.35% to $1.087/E.

'Even individual investors, who were previously positioned to sell, are getting in on the act,' points out DeftHedge. Over the past week, investment funds have strengthened their buy positions', says the risk manager.

In French company news, Solutions 30 (-13%, at 2E) reports a negative net income (group share) of -22.7 million euros for the past year, but a clear turnaround compared with 2022 (-50.1 million), with an adjusted EBITDA margin improving by 190 basis points to 7.1%.

For 2023, Synergie reports a 10.6% drop in net income (group share) to €74.9 million, and a 5.6% decline in EBITDA to €153.2 million, due in particular to the slowdown in certain markets with a greater economic impact (including France).

Gaussin, which is experiencing difficulties, announced on Thursday that it had obtained a safeguard procedure to guarantee the company's future and maintain employment.

Finally, Renault (+50% since January 17) presented on Thursday the new generation of its city 4x4, the 'Captur', a model that is now one of the best-selling vehicles in the urban SUV segment in France


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