The end of May (the "3 Witches" session) confirms the return of confidence: the CAC40 ended the session at 7491 points, with a gain of 0.61%, representing a performance of +1.3% over the week and 16% since the start of the year.

Confidence was felt throughout Europe, with the Euro-Stoxx50 ending the day at an all-time high of 4,398 points (+0.7%), after having reached 4,412 (also above the zenith of April 20), and the DAX40 breaking its record at 16,330 before ending the session at 16,275 (+0.7%).

Tokyo kicked off this wave of records this morning, with the Nikkei (+0.7% to 30,808, i.e. +5% weekly) recording its best mark (30,900 intraday) in... 33 years.

The New York Stock Exchange is flat for the time being, despite hopes of a cross-party agreement in Washington to raise the US debt ceiling.

'In a statement released Thursday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy gave an optimistic view, saying he saw "the path we can take to reach an agreement",' Wells Fargo pointed out.

What's more, he even said he expected the House of Representatives to consider a deal next week, with an 'agreement in principle' possible this weekend," added Deutsche Bank this morning.

On this side of the Atlantic, the news is particularly light in this so-called "three witches" session, with the day after Ascension Thursday likely to see no major corporate releases: investors therefore remain motivated by the hope of seeing the US escape the "lockdown".

The only statistic of note in Europe, Germany's industrial producer price index rose by 4.1% in April on a year-on-year basis, marking a clear slowdown compared with the 6.7% rise seen in March.

The bond markets, which had deteriorated sharply on Thursday, are finding it difficult to reverse the trend: our OATs are up +3pts to 3.04%, Bunds +4pts to 2.455%, Italian BTPs are stabilizing at 4.300%... and T-Bonds +6pts to 3.727%, while the hypothesis of an 11 rate hike to 5.25/5.50% is now supported by 40% of the vote.

The Dollar's rise stalls against the Euro, which recovers 0.4% to $1.0814.

In French company news, Crédit Agricole announces that its Annual General Meeting, held on Wednesday with a quorum of almost 80%, approved all the resolutions proposed by the Board of Directors, including the distribution of a dividend of 1.05 euros per share.

MRM lost more than 1% in Paris, as Invest Securities downgraded its recommendation on the stock from 'buy' to 'neutral', with a price target reduced from 29.2 to 25.1 euros due to the inclusion of a 3% three-month Euribor.

Finally, the Casino Guichard Perrachon group announced today that Fimalac is resigning, with immediate effect, from his position as a director of the group 'in order to avoid any risk of conflict of interest in the context of the Casino group's study of the EP Global Commerce proposal, and not to interfere in any way with the work of the Board of Directors.'

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