It was a rather unexpected end to the session, with the CAC40 decisively heading upward, gaining +0.35% to around 8,130. This increase brings the index back above the +10% mark for the year.
It is difficult to pinpoint a clear positive catalyst, and the low trading volumes, with many operators absent, may be contributing to the volatility.
The CAC index outperformed the E-Stoxx50 (+0.2%) and the DAX40 (+0.15%), as well as US indices, which appear headed for a second session of consolidation (after Friday's -0.05%).
Indeed, red is clearly dominating on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones and S&P500 down -0.5% and the Nasdaq losing -0.65%, slipping in the wake of semiconductors (-2%) and Tesla (-2.7%).

This lull between the year-end holidays naturally gives market professionals time to take stock of the year ending and to ponder the outlook for the coming one.

"Resilient macroeconomic conditions, earnings growth driven by AI, and accommodative monetary policy have produced double-digit returns in developed markets," Swiss Life Asset Managers summarized a few days ago.

SLAM more broadly pointed to "solid gains for global equities in 2025 despite volatility," even though "trade tensions and geopolitical risks triggered intermittent corrections" during the year.

According to SLAM, "2026 should be the 4th consecutive year of strong returns." "Solid monetary and fiscal support, along with resilient GDP and earnings growth, explain the 6% to 12% target for global equities," they noted.

While awaiting the new year, the week is set to be even calmer as macroeconomic data will be scarce (nothing on the agenda this Monday), at least until Friday, when PMI indices for the manufacturing sector in Europe and the United States will be released.

But while stock indices enter their 7th week of stagnation, the mood is entirely different in precious metals, with historic volatility in silver: up +8.5% on Friday, then another 4% higher between midnight and 1 AM in Asia, before a record plunge of -15% in a straight line from $84 to $71.3 in half a day. Gold also lost -4.5% to $4,315, with intraday swings unseen this year.
Rumors circulated about a major bank's inability to meet margin calls on its shorts, followed by increased deposits also affecting buyers, reducing their capacity to push prices higher and put sellers in difficulty. As a result, profit-taking prevailed and silver returned to its December 23 levels ($71.5).
On the bond market, an improvement is emerging in the Eurozone, with Bunds down -3.5bps to 2.832%, French OATs down -3.7bps to 3.531%, and Italian BTPs down -4.3bps to 3.471%.
It was more muted across the Atlantic, with T-Bonds easing -0.7bps on the 10-year to 4.124%, and the 2-year down -1.3bps to 3.47%.
On the FOREX, it was dead calm with the "$-Index" frozen at 98.00 (the Euro inching up 0.05% to 1.1782).

In company news, Alstom signed a contract to supply 47 DMU passenger trains to Mexico, including 33 long-distance and 14 suburban trains, a deal valued at around 920 million euros.

Atos Group reached a binding agreement to sell its South American operations to Semantix, involving approximately 2,800 professionals in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, and Peru.

Thales signed a major contract with Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) for the design, development, and delivery of the next generation of portable autonomous command centers.

This initial £10 million contract marks the first step in a program that could reach £100 million to provide next-generation mine countermeasure capabilities to the Royal Navy.

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