The Paris stock market is showing resilience, with the CAC40 up -1% around 7,185 points at equilibrium, before dipping a further -0.2% as Wall Street moves slightly into the red with -0.2% (Dow Jones) to -0.4% (S&P500).
The Euro-Stoxx50 also limits the damage (same score of -0.2%) around 4,273Pts.273Pts, but Amsterdam stood out with a solo gain of +0.3%.

It has to be said that the latest PMI figures are not encouraging: in France, the HCOB PMI composite index of global activity reports a third consecutive monthly decline in the private sector, from 46.6 in July to 46 in August.

This marks the strongest rate of contraction since November 2020, with activity declining at a sustained pace in both manufacturing and services, the latter seeing its index fall to its lowest level since February 2021.

In the French private sector, the overall volume of 'new business' recorded its strongest monthly decline for 33 months, and the survey showed only a slight increase in employment in August.

In the eurozone, the HCOB composite PMI index of overall activity fell from 48.6 in July to 46.7 in August, the sharpest contraction in the eurozone private sector since November 2020, and, apart from the peaks reached during the Covid-19 pandemic, since March 2013.

This publication is also marked by an unexpected acceleration in inflation in prices paid by private companies in the eurozone, a reversal of trend which, according to the investigators, 'mainly reflects the upward trajectory of wages'.

In the UK, the services PMI fell to 49.5 last month, from 51.5 in July, returning to its lowest level since the beginning of the year, a decline however less pronounced than that announced in the first reading, at 48.7.

Other statistics due by the end of the week, particularly from German industry, should also highlight the Old Continent's loss of momentum at the start of the third quarter.

This should not prevent the indices from continuing to rise, since despite China's aborted rebound, the recession in certain countries in the zone, including Germany, and still very high inflation, the indices all remain close to their all-time highs", says Vincent Boy, market analyst at IG France.

On the bond front, the deterioration that began 10 days ago (accelerating sharply on Friday) continues, with +2pts on OATs (3.126%), +2.5pts on Bunds (2.602%), and +3pts on Italian BTPs (4.325%).
But the US fixed-income markets did much worse, with the 'catch-up' resulting from the close of Wall Street on Monday: T-Bonds suddenly added +7.5Pts to 4.25%... but this may be linked to the surge in oil prices, which pulverized their summer records (+1.5% to $90.35 on 'Brent', same spread on 'WTI' to $87.25).

The dollar took advantage of this to strengthen (+0.65% to 1.0725) and hit a 3-month high (tested on June 7 and again on the morning of June 8).
In French company news, Air France-KLM and Airbus announced that they had entered into exclusive negotiations to set up a joint venture to provide worldwide maintenance services for Airbus A350 equipment.

Eutelsat Communications announces a new strategic partnership with asset management company Karista, under which the satellite operator becomes a new subscriber to its spacetech fund.

Renault Group announces the second year of its Renaulution Shareplan employee shareholding operation, as part of its objective to increase the proportion of capital held by employees from 4.7% at the end of the 2022 operation to 10% by 2030.

Finally, Thales today announces a cybersecurity partnership with Kyndryl, billed as the world's leading provider of IT infrastructure services.

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