After spending most of the session in bullish territory, the CAC40 turned back into the red at 4pm. It is currently down nearly 0.3%, at 6975 points, in a session punctuated by numerous statistical publications.

This morning, investors took note of the HCOB composite PMI index for overall activity in the eurozone. At 47.2 in September (slightly revised from a flash estimate of 47.1), it signaled a fourth consecutive monthly decline in the zone's private sector activity.

In August, compared with the previous month, industrial producer prices rose by 0.6% in the eurozone and 0.5% in the EU, according to Eurostat estimates, following declines in July of 0.5% in the eurozone and 0.7% in the EU respectively.

Seasonally-adjusted retail sales volumes fell by 1.2% in the eurozone and by 0.9% in the EU, compared with the previous month, according to estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Down sharply from 46 in August to 44.1 in September, the HCOB PMI composite index of overall activity points to a further marked contraction in activity in the French private sector, the biggest since November 2020.

Across the Atlantic, the US private sector saw its activity virtually stagnate in September, according to S&P Global, whose composite PMI index came in at 50.2 for the month just ended (revised from 50.1 in flash estimates), the same level as in August.

The US private sector generated just 89,000 new jobs in September, its slowest pace since January 2021, according to the monthly survey published this Wednesday by ADP.

The Commerce Department also reported that, after a 2.1% decline in July, US industrial orders rose by 1.2% in August.

Finally, data published by the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) showed that US crude oil inventories stood at 414.1 million barrels for the week ending September 25, marking a 2.2 million-barrel decline on the previous week.

In other news, Air France-KLM announced an agreement with the Scandinavian airline SAS, in which the Group would acquire a stake of up to 19.9%, and with which it would enter into commercial cooperation.

Airbus reports that it has received an order from United Airlines for an additional 60 A321neo aircraft, in support of its 'United Next' initiative to integrate new aircraft into its fleet, and to standardize and enhance its global network.

Sanofi announces a collaboration with Teva to co-develop and co-market TEV'574, currently in Phase IIb clinical trials for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, two inflammatory bowel diseases.

Thales reports that it has completed the acquisition - announced last June - of Tesserent, one of the largest cybersecurity companies in Australia and New Zealand, following shareholder and other regulatory approvals.

Finally, Saft, the battery subsidiary of TotalEnergies, announced that it has delivered a battery energy storage system (BESS) to replace backup diesel generators at a sustainable Microsoft data center in Sweden.

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