The Paris Bourse is down by around -1.1% (towards 7,490), in the wake of the luxury giants (-4% on LVMH and Hermès): Paris seems to be doing well after -3.25% on the Nasdaq on Tuesday evening and -4.25% in Tokyo this morning, -8% on tech... and the same score on the Seoul stock exchange for semi-conductors.

The CAC40 is not rich in 'technos', otherwise it could have cost it dear, as we can see in Amsterdam, which fell -2.6% (with -7.5% on ASM NT, -6% on ASML), leading to a -1.2% drop in the Euro-Stoxx50 to 4.950.
Wall Street had one of its worst sessions of the year on Tuesday, in the wake of an ISM manufacturing index deemed worrying for US growth, and US indices reopened on a hesitant note: the Dow Jones attempted a rebound (+0.2%) but the Nasdaq slipped again (-0.4%)... the VIX associated with the S&P500 climbed another +3.5% to 21.5.
Yesterday's ISM manufacturing index came in at 47.2, slightly below expectations of 47.5, mainly due to the continuing decline in new orders, which does not bode well for the future.
Today, the US trade deficit for July jumped +8% to -78.8 bn$
This will fuel concerns about the US economy, which have suddenly taken over from the prospect of further Fed monetary easing.
The news seems more reassuring in Europe, based on a number of activity statistics (Eurozone and France): the HCOB 'composite' PMI index of overall activity in the Eurozone points to a reacceleration in private sector growth in August (from 50.2 to 51), though the pace of expansion remains very moderate, while the manufacturing PMI deteriorates once again.

In France, the HCOB PMI composite index gained four points in August to 53.1, reaching a 27-month high and signalling, for the first time since last April, growth in overall activity in the French private sector.
This is entirely linked to the +5Pts (to 55) rise in the 'services' PMI in August, in connection with the boost from the Olympic Games.

The markets will also be keeping a close eye on the US employment figures, to be published at the end of the week, which will provide a clearer picture of the health of the American economy.

'Next Friday's report will be even more important in determining the future trajectory of the markets', warns Florian Ielpo, at Lombard Odier.

The wave of risk aversion affecting equities has led to a rally in the bond market after ten days of deterioration.
As a result, the yield on ten-year US Treasuries has eased -5pts to 3.791%.

In Europe, German Bunds - the region's benchmark borrowing rate - erased -5.5pts to 2.219%, while our OATs eased -6.2pts to 2.935%.

Led by the ISM manufacturing index, oil prices plunged to levels not seen since December 2023. Brent gave up 1% below $73 a barrel, and WTI fell below $70 on the NYMEX, to its lowest level since mid-December 2023.

Finally, on the FOREX, the $ has lost all its gains since August 29, with the Euro gaining +0.35% to $1.1085.

In French company news, Veolia announces the end of its nationwide analysis campaign to establish the presence of the 20 regulated PFAS in French drinking water, based on current quality thresholds.

Crédit Agricole announced on Wednesday that its insurance subsidiary had successfully placed a €750 million bond issue.

Finally, Lhyfe announced the signing of a five-year contract for the sale of hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources, with service station developer H2 Mobility Deutschland, for some of its service stations in Germany.

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