The Paris stock exchange ended the day flat in a shortened session ahead of the long Christmas weekend, with global indices still hovering at record highs. The CAC 40 index closed steady at 8,104.87 points, continuing the trend that has persisted for nearly a month.

With many market participants already on holiday, trading volumes remained extremely thin and price movements limited, as Euronext markets closed at 2:00 p.m. and London wrapped up at 1:30 p.m. Elsewhere in Europe, the Frankfurt, Milan, and Zurich exchanges were already closed.

With little to report in terms of stocks or economic indicators, the few European exchanges that will remain open on Christmas Eve are expected to trade quietly in a low-volatility environment.

Investors have clearly closed out their positions for the year and are taking a pause to digest the strong performances recorded in 2025.

With one week remaining in the year, Paris's CAC 40 is on track for a gain of nearly 10%—a solid performance given the political uncertainty that has weighed on business sentiment in France in recent months.

However, this lags behind the DAX (+22%) and the STOXX Europe 600 (+16%), which have both benefited significantly from improved economic prospects across the continent.

Equity markets have shown remarkable resilience despite the implementation of new U.S. tariffs, whose impact on growth and inflation has ultimately remained contained.

The New York Stock Exchange will also operate a half-day session today, closing at 1:00 p.m. local time.

Wall Street, still at all-time highs, has been buoyant since last week's announcement of a sharp slowdown in U.S. inflation—a development that supports continued monetary easing by the Federal Reserve, following three rate cuts in recent months.

So far in 2025, the Dow Jones has gained nearly 14%, the S&P 500 is up more than 17%, and the Nasdaq Composite has surged over 22%.

Analysts expect the rally to continue in 2026 thanks to robust global growth—even as the economic landscape increasingly takes on a “K”-shaped form—and ongoing investments in AI, which now represent a significant share of economic activity.

While equity valuations remain high and a great deal of optimism is already priced in—leaving room for potential disappointment—corporate earnings are expected to keep rising.

On the currency markets, the dollar is extending its downward trend begun at the start of the year and is set to end the year down 14% against the euro, which is once again flirting with the 1.18 mark.

Strong equity markets and some year-end portfolio rebalancing are weighing on the bond market, with the yield on 10-year Treasuries climbing toward 4.17%, its highest level in three months.

Brent crude is up 0.1%, holding above the $62 mark due to ongoing tensions between the United States and Venezuela, but the European benchmark price is down 18% this year amid persistent fears of oversupply.

The ultimate safe haven, gold, is unfazed by the risk-on climate and is up another 0.1% at $4,492, reaching historic highs. For the full year, the yellow metal is set to post gains of around 73%.