The CAC 40 index ended on a modest gain of 0

After the nightmarish day of Monday, the situation remained very precarious on the stock markets yesterday. European indices had a terrible to find a clear direction and investors confidence is shaken by the magnitude of the financial crisis, while in the US the Dow Jones was still strong fall. Sign of the nervousness ambient, volatility, which had reached the day before its highest level since 1989, has remained very strong. At the end of a session marked by a great hesitation, European exchanges have completed in dispersed order. If further losses were penalized Frankfurt, Milan, Amsterdam and Zurich, the Paris Stock Exchange has managed to stabilize after his spectacular drop on Monday. The CAC 40 index ended on a modest gain of 0.55, to 3.732,22 points. European markets have hardly helped by news from the United States where Wall Street is unable to maintain long its initial rebound. Penalized by the quarterly results in sharp decline in Bank of America, which also announced a capital increase and a reduction in its dividend to strengthen its own funds, the Dow Jones lost 5.11, to 9.447,11 points at the end, its lowest level for five years. The Nasdaq has on the remote side of 5.80, to 1.754,88 points.

Bring back the confidence

Yet public authorities spare no efforts to try to bring back confidence. Wants to avoid that the credit crisis contaminating the real economy, reserve US Federal to revive the commercial paper market by putting in place a structure responsible for redeeming these instruments that allow businesses to cope with their cash flow needs. Sign of paralysis of the commercial paper market, the average rate at three months there from 2.8 to 4.3 in three weeks. The European Central Bank continued its side its injections of liquidity, particularly in the long run, doubling its offer to six months to EUR 50 billion, which is designed to reassure the needs of the banks at the end of the year always crucial passage. With the ECB and the Fed, four other central banks have published a calendar of their refinancing operations in dollars until the end of the year. Above all, the Governments of the 27 countries of the European Union decided to bring 20,000 to at least 50,000 euros the minimum amount guaranteed bank deposits of individuals in the event of an institution.

"Liquidity trap".

This decision shows that Governments are now ready to become capital providers in the last resort and to take over from the central banks. So far, monetary policy is to put an end to the crisis of credit, since all efforts for thirteen months to supply the interbank market liquidity did not get out of paralysis. Moreover, the Eonia rate at the day is is still stretched yesterday 4.38. For Société Générale, "it would appear that we have already fallen in a liquidity trap" that now only the injection of fresh capital into the banking system may close.

For the time being, operators expect more and more concerted interest rates fall of major central banks. On some consider even the kick-off of this intervention can be given before the meeting of the Bank of England expected tomorrow.