Up by around 0.2%, futures on the CAC40 are forecasting timid gains in Paris, as the session gets underway, dominated mid-day by the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the past month.

'The CPI is expected to rise by 0.4% at a monthly rate. If this is the case, it would confirm a firming of inflation in the first quarter', warns Oddo BHF, for whom this statistic 'has the potential to be a big market mover'.

The research firm points out that underlying inflation is tending to pick up, and its level, at around 4% a year, 'is not a comfortable one for the Fed', which 'has confirmed that its central scenario is to cut rates in 2024, but not right away'.

As an indication, Jefferies expects to announce an annual inflation rate up by 0.1 points to 3.2% in gross data, but down by 0.2 points to 3.7% in underlying data (excluding energy and food).

In other news, Accor signed a share purchase agreement to buy back a block of seven million of its own shares - representing 2.77% of its capital - from Jinjiang International, for 275 million euros.

Séché Environnement has announced net income, group share, of 6.13 euros per share for its 2023 financial year, up 23.2%, and will propose an annual dividend of 1.20 euros per share (compared with 1.10 euros for 2022).

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