The flagship CAC 40 index advanced by 0.28% or 20.63 points to 7,403.83 points, the day after a sharp decline of 1.45%.

Investors expect another moderate increase in the US central bank's (Fed) key interest rate, by a quarter of a percentage point, as in March, while hoping to hear more dovish messages for the coming months.

For Valérie Rizk, economist at Hugau Gestion, the Fed's rates are "very close to the peak, or even the peak" they can reach as part of the monetary institution's fight against inflation.

Moreover, "since March, we have seen the first signs of the transmission of this monetary tightening cycle" to the economy and "these warning signs have come from US regional banks".

After the bankruptcies of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, it was First Republic Bank that was seized by the US authorities and bought by JPMorgan Chase earlier this week.

These fears of a destabilization of the US financial system argue in favor of the hypothesis of a pause in the Fed's rate hikes.

For the European Central Bank, which meets on Thursday, on the other hand "the diagnosis is not the same, the euro zone has an economic cycle lagging behind the United States," says Ms. Rizk.

"There is much less, if any, sign of inflation starting to decrease with certainty and there are fewer fears about the soundness of the European banking system," adds the economist, who concludes that "the ECB has more room for manoeuvre to increase its rates".

Stellantis maintains its 2023 objectives

The title Stellantis lost 1.87% to 14.46 euros. The manufacturer maintains its 2023 objectives following the publication of a 14% increase in revenue in the first quarter, thanks in particular to improved semiconductor supplies and price increases.

Record net profit for BNP Paribas

The BNP Paribas share price fell by 1.18% to 56.29 euros after the announcement of a record net profit of 4.4 billion euros in the first quarter, boosted by the sale of its US subsidiary Bank of the West, nearly 2.5 times more than in 2022 over the same period. Jefferies analysts point to the difficulty of analyzing these results due to changes in their presentation.

Imerys badly received

The industrial minerals group Imerys published Tuesday evening its quarterly results that revealed a stagnation of its turnover in the first quarter compared to the same period of 2022. A net profit up 38.8% failed to convince investors, the share lost 9.46% to 33.70 euros.

© 2023 AFP