The Paris Bourse has stabilized its decline since lunchtime at -1.5/-1.6%, but the CAC40 is holding on to 7,200pts.
There is still no real downward pressure, as volumes have barely broken through the 1.5 billion euro barrier.
The Euro-Stoxx50 fared little better, with -1.4% at 4,215, and Wall Street continued the correction begun late in Wednesday's session, with -0.5% on the Dow Jones and -1% on the S&P500 and Nasdaq.

Tech stocks are weighed down by the tension in US yields across the entire curve: with a +13Pts rise to 4.4800%, the US 10-year has pulverized its worst annual levels and posted its highest cost since 2006.

In Paris, note the -19/-20% plunge of Kalray (the French A.I. star in the start-up category), which sharply reduced its 2023 sales target and reported a loss of -3BnE (the partnership with Dell is disappointing).

The day got off to a bad start in Asia, with a sharp decline in Tokyo: in reaction to the Fed's announcements, the Nikkei index fell by almost 1.4% (watch out for the BoJ's meeting tomorrow morning, as it could turn out to be more restrictive), while the CSI 300 of mainland China's large caps lost 0.7%.

The Fed seems to have cooled investor confidence, which was initially perplexed around 8 p.m. (50/50 rate hike probability for November 1), but the heaviness has taken hold, as the US Federal Reserve is leaning towards keeping rates above 5% until the end of 2024.
For optimists still hoping for a 'pivot' in mid-2024, or early autumn, Jerome Powell, announced a revision of the institution's inflation forecast to 2.6% from 3.7% in 2024.

But Jerome Powell reiterated his confidence in the strength of the US economy and sharply revised 2023 growth from +1 to +2.1%, cooling hopes of rate cuts below 5% next year.

Fed officials' revised projections for interest rates continue to point to another rate hike in 2024, and the Fed now seems to be banking on a 'soft landing' for the economy", emphasize Commerzbank analysts.

"The fact that growth has been stronger than expected justifies higher rates for longer", adds Bastien Drut, head of strategy and economic research at CPR AM.
In the UK, the Bank of England (BoE) has confirmed a further increase in the cost of money, with the risk of dragging the British economy into recession.
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has also maintained its key rate at 1.75%.

On the European bond front, annual ceilings are being smashed, with our OATs recording a record yield of 3.30%, while Bunds are also up 6 points at 2.762%, and Italian BTPs are up 10 points at 4.555%.
On the currency front, the flirtation with 4.50% on the T-Bond 2033 boosted the Dollar, which recovered +0.3% against the Euro, which retreated to 1.0630.

The market took note of the 'Philly FED' index, unemployment benefit registrations and the Conference Board's leading indicators
Manufacturing activity fell back sharply in the Philadelphia region in September, from +12 last month to -13.5 this month, returning to its July level.

This is the 14th contraction in the last 16 months'.... and new orders and shipments also fell, to -10.2 and -3.2 respectively in September.

Businesses continued to report overall price increases and an overall decline in employment, but the survey's future indices improved, suggesting more widespread growth expectations for the next six months.

Weekly jobless claims fell by -20,000 to 201.000 last week in the US, contrary to expectations, reflecting once again the strength of the US job market.

Another closely watched data point, the four-week moving average - which better reflects the underlying trend on the labor market - also fell by 7,750 to 217,000.
Sales of older homes in the US contracted by 0.7% last month compared with July, to 4.04 million at a CVS annualized rate, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

The median sales price reached $407,100, up 3.9% year-on-year, and the inventory of unsold existing homes fell by a further 0.9% month-on-month to 1.1 million at the end of August, or 3.3 months at the current rate of absorption, an all-time low.

The index of leading indicators fell by a further -0.4% in August to 105.4, announced the Conference Board on Thursday, suggesting a slowdown in growth or even a possible recession over the next 12 months.
The ConfBoard's barometer thus continues a downward trend that began almost a year and a half ago, pointing to a difficult period, or even an entry into recession, for the US economy within a year.

After expected GDP growth of 2.2% in 2023, the institute thus sees the US economy contracting by 0.8% next year.

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