Buyers are keeping a steady hand, encouraged by a slightly positive opening for US indices (S&P500 +0.5%, Nasdaq +0.8%), despite long yields still at their zenith since the October 2022 peak (equalled or possibly exceeded at the close by T-Bonds and, above all, our OATs, which have passed the 3.20% mark and are rising towards 3.23%).
The yield on the 10-year German Bund, the benchmark on the European bond market, also peaked at 2.685%, corresponding to a near doubling over the past 12 months and a retracement of the worst levels of mid-February 2023.

The Paris Bourse gained 0.6%, around 7,215 points (in non-existent volumes of 850MnsE in 7 hours of trading), well helped by TotalEnergies (+1.5%) and the automotive sector with +2.3% on Stellatis.

This fourth week of August will be marked on Thursday by the traditional end-of-summer Jackson Hole meeting of the world's leading central bankers, who will be meeting against a backdrop of questions about the evolution of monetary policies.

This meeting, always closely followed by the markets, will conclude with a speech by Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Investors are hoping for an improvement in general sentiment, which would enable them to break with the current phase of risk aversion that is shaking the markets.
US long rates, like the 'very short term', look set to rise again in mid-September, with the '10-year' at 4.33%, the '6-month' at 5.51% and the '30-year' at 4.47%, compared with 3.84% exactly 1 month ago.

The enthusiasm surrounding the resilience of the economy, the moderation of inflation and the emergence of artificial intelligence has not disappeared, but it has been obscured by worries about global growth and the recent rise in interest rates", explains Craig Fehr, Strategist at Edward Jones.

The unknown factor of inflation is one that seems particularly likely to push central bankers to exercise caution.

Powell is likely to adopt a less nuanced stance at Jackson Hole, in our view, given that the latest indicators clearly point to a risk of rising inflation", warn BofA economists.

The week in Europe will also be punctuated by the publication, on Wednesday, of the results of the monthly purchasing managers' surveys (PMI) on private sector activity in the major European economies.

The foreign exchange market remains very calm, with the dollar stuck at 1.0880/E; Brent crude fluctuates little at $85.2 (+0.25%).

In French company news, Visiomed shares, whose trading was suspended on Friday, gained nearly 17% this morning in Paris.

TotalEnergies announces that it has signed an agreement with INPEX to acquire PTTEP's 100% interest in the AC-RL7 permit in Australia, subject to regulatory approval.

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield announced Friday evening that it had closed a new $925 million financing package for Westfield Century City, its shopping mall in the heart of Los Angeles.

Finally, Saint-Gobain announced that it had obtained Competition Bureau clearance for the acquisition of Building Products of Canada, a producer of residential roofing shingles and wood-fiber insulation board in Canada.


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