The CAC 40 is kicking off this so-called "truce of the confectioners" week on a steady note, with many traders absent from the market. The index remains close to 8090 points.

This period of calm between the year-end holidays naturally gives market professionals time to review the past year's performance and ponder the outlook for the one ahead.

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

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

As it stands, the CAC 40 has posted a gain of about 9.6% since January 1, underperforming the pan-European STOXX Europe 600 index (up around 16%), as well as the benchmark U.S. S&P 500 index (up 17.8%).

According to SLAM, "2026 should mark the fourth consecutive year of solid returns." "Strong monetary and fiscal support, along with resilient GDP and earnings growth, justify the 6% to 12% target for global equities," they said.

As we await the new year, the week is expected to be even calmer, with macroeconomic data in short supply—at least until this Friday, when PMI indices for the manufacturing sector in Europe and the United States are released.

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

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

Thales has 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 contract, worth 10 million pounds sterling, marks the first step in a program that could reach 100 million pounds sterling to provide the Royal Navy with new-generation mine countermeasure capabilities.