The Paris stock market gained nearly 0.6%, around 7330 points, after Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said that 'a gradual mindset is the appropriate course of action for the central bank' before adding 'stick to a quarter-point rate hike for the March 22 meeting', reports Wells Fargo.

At a time when the evolution of central bank monetary policy remains unclear, Raphael Bostic's comments seem to have been welcomed by investors, who were no longer ruling out a half-point rate hike this month. At the very least, the official's stance shows that the debate within the Fed remains open.

Doubts about the monetary policies of the major central banks continue to drive bond yields higher, with French OATs and German Bunds setting new record highs.

In France, the S&P Global Composite PMI for overall activity returned to the expansion zone, rising from 49.1 in January to 51.7 in February, after three consecutive months of contraction.

However, this rebound in activity was entirely due to the strong performance of the services sector, with manufacturing production recording its biggest decline since October 2022. This performance at least temporarily removes the risk of recession on the Old Continent.

Still on the French statistical front, in January, production fell over the month in both manufacturing (-1.8% after +0.2%) and industry as a whole (-1.9% after +1.5%), according to seasonally and working-day adjusted data (CVS-CJO).

Insee, which published these figures, highlights a sharp downturn in transport equipment (-6.7% after +8%), particularly in other transport equipment (-9.5%, after +13.5%) and more moderately in automobiles (-2.6%, after +0.9%).

In the eurozone, the S&P Global composite PMI index for overall activity rose from 50.3 in January to 52.0 in February, signalling continued growth in eurozone activity, with the pace of expansion also being the strongest since June 2022.

Investors are now awaiting the release of the ISM services index in the USA at 4:00 pm. According to experts, the ISM should remain in expansion territory, despite a slight dip.

In French company news, geosciences group CGG reports net income of $43 million for 2022, compared with a net loss of $180 million in 2021, as well as an 88% increase in adjusted operating income to $147 million, representing a margin of 16%.

For the first half of FY 2022-23, Bonduelle reports a 35.3% increase in net income from continuing operations to 14.4 million euros, and a 94 basis point improvement in recurring operating margin to 3.5%.

Finally, Ipsen announces the completion of the acquisition of Albireo Pharma, a leading innovator in the field of bile acid modulators for the treatment of rare liver diseases, an acquisition announced in January.

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