(CeFinance.com) The period of euie and almost continuous rise in the Paris index that began in mid-December has just ended. The Paris stock exchange indeed drops more than 1%, around 7292 points, after the publication of the ‘minutes’ of the Fed.

The document indicates that the leaders of the US central bank are considering a rate hike at a faster pace than initially expected.

Surprised by this eventuality, the markets twist on either side of the globe: yesterday, at the final bell, the Dow Jones dropped 1.1% while the Nasdaq Composite plunged 3.3%. Today, it is the turn of European stock markets to take this first setback of the year.

In addition, investor morale deteriorated further this morning with the declaration of a state of emergency in Kazakhstan, which has obtained aid from Moscow for law enforcement operations in the face of the protests. which have shaken the country for several days.

In this context, all Asian stock markets ended in negative territory Thursday, with a decline of around 2.8% in Tokyo.

In the afternoon, investors can read several US statistics such as the trade balance, industrial orders, unemployment benefit registrations as well as the ISM for services.

Before that, it is the figures for industrial orders in Germany, then producer prices in the euro zone, which will be revealed at the end of the morning.

In the news of French companies, Société Générale and ALD announce the signing of two separate memoranda of understanding providing for the acquisition by ALD of 100% of LeasePlan’s capital from a consortium led by TDR Capital, with a view to creating a a leading player in mobility solutions.

Dassault Aviation indicates having delivered, during the past year, 30 Falcon business jets (for a forecast of 25 deliveries and against 34 in 2020), as well as 25 Rafale fighter jets for export (in line with its forecast, compared to 13 in 2020).

Finally, Nanobiot surged by 18% as the first patient was detected for NANORAY-312, a pivotal phase III study evaluating NBTXR3 activated by radiotherapy in elderly patients at high risk with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.