The Paris stock exchange is expected to extend its gains at Thursday's opening, buoyed by encouraging economic indicators released the previous day in both Europe and the United States, and in anticipation of a week that promises to deliver more high-profile statistics from across the Atlantic.
As of 8:05 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract for December delivery was up 38 points at 8,138, signaling a continuation of the modest rise recorded on Wednesday.
The Paris market closed yesterday's session with a 0.2% gain at 8,087 points, bolstered by a more than 7% surge in Stellantis shares following an upgrade from UBS, and a 4% rebound in Airbus after a challenging start to the week due to software issues detected in its A320 aircraft.
While the mood remained relatively subdued elsewhere in Europe--with declines of 0.1% in both Frankfurt and London, and the Euro STOXX 50 barely inching up 0.1% at the close--the overall trend was supported by stronger-than-expected PMI services activity indices.
Momentum also remained positive on Wall Street, where Wednesday's data reinforced expectations of a soft landing for the U.S. economy, supporting the case for continued Federal Reserve rate cuts. This was underpinned by a confirmed slowdown in the labor market (ADP data) and a robust ISM services index, which pointed to better inflation control in the service sector.
At the closing bell, the Dow Jones climbed 0.9%, the S&P 500 rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq advanced 0.2%.
To either confirm or temper this positive sentiment, investors will be closely watching this afternoon's U.S. weekly jobless claims, as well as private data from Challenger on layoffs.
In the eurozone, October retail sales figures--due at 11:00 a.m.--will be the main event of the day.
Nonetheless, markets remain primarily focused on tomorrow's release of the PCE price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, which takes on major significance less than a week before the central bank's monetary policy decisions.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei index soared more than 2.3% late Thursday following a successful government bond auction that reassured investors after jitters earlier in the week over uncertainty surrounding Japanese interest rates.
The dollar is regaining some ground after recent declines, amid growing expectations that the Fed will cut rates again in December and persistent rumors that Kevin Hassett--a close adviser to President Donald Trump--could be nominated to head the Federal Reserve. Hassett's close ties to the president have raised concerns among investors who value the central bank's independence.
The euro is currently down 0.1% at 1.656 against the greenback.
As similar causes yield similar effects, the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries has dropped three basis points to 4.05%.
In Europe, the yield on Germany's benchmark 10-year Bund is down 0.7 basis points at 2.7450%, while the French 10-year OAT has eased by 0.4 basis points to 3.4910%.
Oil prices are rising for a second consecutive session, with investors focused on the fruitless meeting in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, as Kyiv claims to have destroyed a section of a Russian pipeline that was previously targeted a few weeks ago.
Brent crude is up 0.6% above $63, while U.S. light crude (WTI) is gaining 0.7% to nearly $59.4.
