The Paris Bourse (+0.7%) continues its record-breaking run, with the CAC40 leaping above 7,530 and the CAC 'GR' above 22,150.

The CAC40 posted back-to-back sessions for a weekly gain of +2.5%, the index being driven by banking stocks on Friday.
The Euro-Stoxx50 gained 0.7%, returning to its annual highs (4,400) and not far from its all-time record of January 5, 2022.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones (+0.1%) climbed back above 34,000, while the S&P500 gained 0.4% to 4,162pts.
The day's figures had little impact on US indices: US retail sales fell by more than economists expected in March, dropping by 1% sequentially after a 0.2% decline the previous month (revised from an initial estimate of -0.4%), according to the Commerce Department.

Excluding the automotive sector (vehicles and equipment), US retail sales contracted by 0.8% last month compared with February, where the market consensus was expecting a more limited decline.

US industrial production rose by 0.4% last month after a 0.2% increase in February, according to the Federal Reserve, a development roughly in line with economists' expectations.

In detail, manufacturing and mining output contracted by 0.5%, while utilities output surged by 8.4% as more usual weather conditions boosted heating demand.
Production was 0.5% above its level of a year earlier. The industrial capacity utilization rate improved by 0.2 points to 79.8%, a level 0.1 points above its long-term average (1972-2022).
On the other side of the Atlantic, the yield on 10-year Treasuries rose by +5pts to 3.503%.

This morning, investors took note of the trend in consumer prices in France. Over one year, they rose by 5.7% in March 2023, marking a slowdown after +6.3% in February, according to Insee, which revised upwards its provisional estimate for March by 0.1 points.

This fall in the inflation rate was due to a slowdown in energy prices (+4.9%). Prices for manufactured goods (+4.8%) and services (+2.9%) rose at a similar pace to February. Food (+15.9%) and tobacco (+7.8%) prices are accelerating.

Investors' current attraction to equity markets is limiting demand for Treasury bonds, as illustrated by the rise in German Bund and French OAT yields (+1Pt today).

The prospect of an imminent pause in the monetary tightening cycle, both in the US and Europe, is fuelling investors' risk appetite and directing them towards the equity markets

The markets are now awaiting the start of the corporate earnings season, and any good news that might sustain the upward trajectory underway in recent weeks.

According to FactSet data, the financial companies making up the S&P 500 should see their earnings climb by 9.1% in the first quarter, the best sector performance of the entire index.

The dollar continues to suffer from the moderation of inflation in the United States, which is removing the prospect of further interest rate hikes, allowing the euro to remain solidly above the 1.10 threshold.

In French company news, Fleury Michon reports net income of 2.4 million euros for 2022, compared with 4 million the previous year, and operating income before non-recurring items of 15 million euros, or 1.9% of sales, a margin that is virtually stable (-0.1 points).

Hermès International reports sales of 3.38 billion euros for the first quarter of 2023, up 22% (+23% at constant exchange rates), with 'dynamic activity in all geographic zones and all business lines'.

Kaufman & Broad reports net income attributable to equity holders of the parent (RNPG) of 31.6 million euros for the first quarter of 2023, compared with 11.8 million euros for the same period in 2022, as well as an improvement of 0.9 points in the operating income recurring rate to 8.4%.

Genfit reported a net loss of 23.7 million euros and an operating loss of 27.3 million euros for 2022, compared with profits of 67.3 and 31.8 million euros respectively for the previous year.

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