On Friday, the CAC 40 slipped 0.65% to 8,258.94 points, while other major European exchanges showed a bit more resilience, as seen with London's FTSE, which lost just 0.12%.

In the United States, indexes hovered around the flatline. The Dow Jones edged down 0.14% to 49,375 points, the Nasdaq Composite was steady at 23,530 points, and the S&P 500 gave up just 0.04% to 6,941 points.

Investors were left wanting for catalysts today and made do with just two macroeconomic indicators. In Germany, the consumer price index remained unchanged in December. Year-on-year, it rose by 1.8%, as expected, after a 2.3% increase in November. Harmonized data, which allows for comparisons between European Union countries, showed inflation up 0.2% last month, or 2% year-on-year. In both cases, these figures matched analysts' forecasts.

In the United States, after a 0.4% sequential rise in November (revised up from an initial 0.2% estimate), industrial production grew by 0.4% in December, according to the Federal Reserve. Breaking down the numbers, actual manufacturing output increased by 0.2% in December, while mining output fell by 0.7%, and utilities production jumped by 2.6%.

A Heavy Week to Digest in Geopolitics...

Since Monday, market participants had plenty to keep an eye on. On the diplomatic front, the news was once again particularly busy. Donald Trump discussed positive talks with Venezuela's interim president. The conversation covered a range of topics, notably oil. Regarding Iran, the U.S. president warned that in the event of executions of protesters, "very strong action" would be taken. For its part, Tehran stated that there were no plans for hangings, which helped ease tensions with the United States.

Oil prices fell on Thursday following these statements, before rebounding on Friday. At the European close, Brent crude was up 0.94% at $64.47 a barrel.

Finally, Donald Trump confirmed his interest in Greenland, while after a meeting, Danish leaders spoke of fundamental disagreement. Meanwhile, several European countries, including France, deployed troops for a reconnaissance mission and joint exercises.

Donald Trump also made headlines early in the week. Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Fed, revealed that the Justice Department had issued subpoenas to the central bank, opening the door to possible criminal charges. The reason? A murky affair involving renovations of Federal Reserve buildings. "A pretext," Powell dismissed. Many central bankers voiced their support for Jerome Powell, stressing that central banks must maintain their independence.

... and on the Microeconomic Front

This week also marked the kickoff of earnings season across the Atlantic. Several major U.S. banks such as JP Morgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup released their fourth-quarter 2025 results. Overall, they outperformed expectations, despite a politically and economically uncertain environment. Market reactions, however, were more mixed.

Next week, the pace of earnings reports will pick up considerably and will not be limited to banks. Among the major companies to watch are BHP Group, Netflix, 3M, Johnson & Johnson, and Intel. In France, LVMH, the country's largest listed company, will report on Thursday.

On the currency market, as European exchanges closed, the euro was almost unchanged against the greenback (-0.04%), trading at 1.604 dollars.