The Paris Bourse is set to open slightly higher on Thursday morning, before turning its attention to the United States, where a number of economic indicators are expected in the afternoon.

At around 8:15 a.m., the 'future' contract on the CAC 40 index - for month-end delivery - was up 22 points at 8007.5, suggesting a return to the 8,000-point zone at the opening.

Macroeconomic data are particularly closely watched by investors at the moment, following signals from the Fed that it is likely to keep rates high for longer than previously hoped.

Against this worrying backdrop, they are hoping that the statistics expected today will not reflect too much dynamism in activity, which could prompt the Federal Reserve to postpone its rate-cutting plans once again.

Among the day's many indicators are the jobless claims figures, which will provide information on the state of the labor market, which is closely watched by the US central bank.

Also in their sights are the Philadelphia Fed index, followed by the Conference Board's leading indicators, which will gauge the country's growth prospects.

Traders are counting on these indicators to enable stock market indices to get back on track after their sharp declines of recent days.

In Paris, the CAC 40 index remains down for five out of seven sessions, a downward trend which has seen it fall back below its important 8,000-point support.

Wall Street also continued to consolidate on Wednesday, with investors once again massively selling technology stocks, led by semiconductors.

'We believe that the artificial intelligence craze is now over, and recommend greater exposure to cyclical and value stocks', wrote Danske Bank this morning.

On the bond market, the situation remains calm, with the yield on 10-year US Treasuries, which had reached five-month highs on Tuesday, easing to 4.59%.

This easing also brings relief to European Treasuries, with the yield on the German Bund also down slightly to 2.46%.

Oil prices are stabilizing, caught between yesterday's data showing a rise in US crude inventories and a geopolitical climate that remains very tense.

In London, Brent crude is up timidly by 0.2% to $87.5 a barrel, while US light crude (WTI) is up by just over 0.1% to $82.8.

Copyright (c) 2024 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.