The CAC40 (+1.2%) is flirting with the 7,300 mark, and this lunchtime set a new annual record (7,319 for the 'PX1') and an all-time high (CAC40 'GR' at 21,400), taking its advance to +12% since January 1.
The CAC was boosted in particular by Carrefour and Kering, which gained +8% and +3.2% respectively following the publication of their results.
Wall Street, which had reopened -0.6% lower (with no detriment to the Euro-Stoxx 50), made up half its lost ground.
The E-Stoxx50 posted +0.9% to 4,275/4,280 (annual record) in the wake of Frankfurt (+0.7% to 15,500).

On the statistics front, investors discovered a flurry of figures from the United States since 2:30 pm.
The 1st surprise: US retail sales rose by 3% in January (vs. +2% expected), to $697 billion, according to the Commerce Department (they had recorded an unusual decline of 1.1% in December).

Excluding the automotive sector (vehicles and equipment), US retail sales rose by 2.3%.

By contrast, US industrial production stagnated last month, according to the Federal Reserve, even though economists were generally hoping for a rebound.
In detail, manufacturing output rose by 1% and mining and quarrying by 2%, while utilities output fell by 9.9% as weather conditions weighed on heating demand.
Production was nevertheless 0.8% higher than a year earlier. The industrial capacity utilization rate fell by 0.1 points to 78.3%, 1.3 points below its long-term average (1972-2022).
Activity in the New York region's manufacturing sector contracted again in February, but at a much slower pace than in January, according to the Federal Reserve's monthly "Empire State" survey: it stood at -5.8 this month, compared with -32.9 in January, but this came as a pleasant surprise since economists were forecasting a less significant improvement, to around -18.
Thus, the consensus for the Fed's "final rate" is now mostly expected to be 5.50%, and 5.25% is no longer as consensual as it was two weeks ago.
In Europe, the Eurozone's trade balance saw its deficit shrink from -E11.7 bn to -E8.81 bn in December 2022 (consensus -12.5). Over the full year 2022, the Eurozone recorded a record deficit of -314.7 bn euros, compared with a surplus of 116.4 bn euros in 2021, i.e. a colossal differential of -431 bn euros.

Growth in Europe has not contracted as much as feared, and the spectre of recession also seems to be receding in the USA... but bond markets continue to show a radical curve inversion, with a 125Pts 'premium' for the '6-month' T-Bond over the '10-year'.
The 10-year is up +3pts to 3.791%, the 6-month is stable at 5.02% and the 1-year is closer to 5.00%.

Given that 70% of growth depends on household consumption, "with the labor market still robust and savings plentiful, it may be premature to bury the American consumer", warn Oddo BHF economists.

This morning, UK inflation came in at 8.8% year-on-year in January, marking a marked slowdown on December's 9.2%.
Gilts are easing a little (-6pts to 3.46%) after a 6-session black streak and +50 basis points recovered.
OATs and Bunds are virtually stable or slightly up by +0.5 basis points.
The euro suddenly reverses course, falling -0.6% to $1.0670, its lowest level for 1 week.

In company news, Kering (+3%) reported a 14% increase in net income (Group share) to 3.6 billion euros for 2022, and 11% growth in operating income before non-recurring items to 5.6 billion euros, representing a margin of 27.5%.

Carrefour (+8%) reported sales of 90.8 billion euros for 2022, up 8.5% on a comparable basis compared with the same period a year earlier. Net income attributable to the Group came to 1,212 million euros (+7.6%), representing adjusted net income attributable to the Group up 14% to 1.63 euros, versus 1.43 euros a year earlier.

Lastly, La Française des Jeux (FDJ) reported a 4.7% increase in net income to 308 million euros, as well as a 13.1% increase in recurring EBITDA to 590 million, representing a margin of 24%.

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