The flagship CAC 40 index advanced 76.38 points to 7,263.37 points, a level close to that of March 9, before the banking shock. On Wednesday, it had already gained 1.39%.

The CAC 40 is heading for its second quarter in a row with a jump of more than 10%, a first since 2009.

Over the month of March as a whole, the index almost returned to balance (-0.06%) while it had plunged below 6,900 points at the halfway point.

The theme of inflation returns to the top of investors' concerns this weekend with the publication of many indicators.

First good news: price increases fell significantly in Germany in March, to 7.4% year-on-year, and to 3.3% in Spain, from 6% in February, due to a decline in energy prices.

These first inflation figures "add optimism to optimism, between easing banking problems and slowing inflation," said Philippe Cohen, portfolio manager at Kiplink Finance.

The France will make its estimate known on Friday, with a decline expected to 5.5% year-on-year by analysts polled by Factset, before Eurostat also publishes its indicator for the euro zone.

However, the level of inflation remains well above the European Central Bank's (ECB) 2% target.

According to Cohen, "the ECB is waiting to see a much more significant decline" in inflation, having already raised its key rates by 3.5 percentage points since July.

On the bond market, the 10-year yield on the French bond, the reference maturity, was trading sharply, around 2.88% around 17:50 against 2.82% Wednesday at the close.

Friday in the United States will also be published the PCE index for February, a benchmark inflation indicator for the US central bank.

Semiconductors keep shape

Already well oriented Wednesday after the positive communications of the American Micron and the German Infineon, the manufacturers of semiconductors continued to advance Thursday. STMicroelectronics gained 2.63% to 48.61 euros and Soitec 4.04% to 145.45 euros.

LNA Health welcomed

LNA Santé (medical care, retirement homes, etc.) saw its annual net profit increase by 21.2% in 2022 to €29.3 million, driven by the increase in its activity and the improvement in its margins.

Its share rose 5.85% to 33.45 euros. Also in the retirement homes sector, Korian took 4.57% to 6.86 euros and Orpea 13.31% to 2.05 euros.

© 2023 AFP