After opening higher, the flagship CAC 40 index slowed to near balance, supported by the oil and mining sector.

"The markets need to calm down after the episode they have just experienced with the banks," Alexandre Neuvy, private manager at Amplegest, told AFP.

Investors have "the impression that the fire is rather extinguished on the crisis of the banks in the United States and Credit Suisse", but the markets are waiting "to see a little more clearly before resuming their march forward", he continued.

Investors' anxiety about banks has eased with the arrival of a buyer for the US bank Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which went bankrupt in early March, and the multiplication of reassuring words from policymakers and regulators on the resilience of the banking system.

"But it is clear that the economy will slow down after what happened," Neuvy warned, believing that banks will probably "lend less" or "more expensive" and, ultimately, the prospects of an economic slowdown could allow central banks to ease their rate hike policy a little.

In France, continued growth has reduced public debt, which has fallen to 111.6% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022, while the public deficit has declined to 4.7% of GDP, better than the government's target, INSEE said on Tuesday. Sign of a "resilience" of the economy, according to the Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire.

On the other hand, the business climate deteriorated slightly in March.

Banks under investigation

The financial prosecutor's office on Tuesday carried out massive searches targeting five major banks in France, suspected of having used a tax scheme on dividends called "CumCum", which may have cost the tax authorities more than a billion euros.

According to a source close to the file, these are BNP Paribas (+0.35% to 51.97 euros), Exane (fund manager, subsidiary of BNP), Société Générale (-1.07% to 19.75 euros), Natixis and HSBC.

TotalEnergies rises sharply in the CAC 40

The total compensation of TotalEnergies' Chairman and CEO, Patrick Pouyanné, increased by 23.33% in 2022 compared to 2021, reaching 7.33 million euros, more than before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a financial document published on Friday. The group's share gained 2.65% on Tuesday, to 53.51 euros. Other energy-related stocks performed well, such as Engie (+0.59% to €13.93).

© 2023 AFP