Investors continue to limit risk exposure in the absence of major news catalysts. No significant developments have emerged regarding the conflict in the Middle East.

Market participants also remain focused on the evolution of bond yields. This morning in Europe, French and German 10-year yields are easing. The former stands at 3.804%, following a peak of 3.826% a few days ago, while the latter is at 3.176%, compared to 3.199% yesterday. In the United States, the 10-year Treasury yield is stabilizing at 4.648%, down from 4.6873% the previous day. This recent surge was fueled by fears of inflationary pressures stemming from rising energy prices linked to the war in Iran and the potential blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Should price increases be confirmed and persist, central banks are unlikely to cut key rates (sorry Donald) and could even raise them further.

The macroeconomic calendar is also relatively light for the time being. Investors are digesting British inflation data. In April, the Consumer Price Index rose by 0.7%, whereas analysts had feared a 0.9% increase. On an annual basis, the growth rate slowed slightly from 3.3% in March to 2.8% in April, coming in below expectations of +3%.

The remainder of the day will be busier, with April inflation data for the Eurozone due at 11:00 AM and weekly crude oil inventories in the United States at 4:30 PM.

In the meantime, crude oil prices are retreating but remain at particularly high levels. In New York, WTI crude is trading at 102.66 dollars, while North Sea Brent in London is priced at 109.64 dollars.

On the currency market, the euro is losing ground against the greenback (-0.18%), trading at 1.1585 dollars, its lowest level since early April.

The sole event to watch: Nvidia

The day's primary focus is scheduled for after the Wall Street close: the publication of Nvidia's quarterly results. Beyond its status as the world's largest market capitalization at approximately 5,340 billion dollars, the accounts will be closely scrutinized as they serve as a recurring pulse check for the technology sector, and specifically for artificial intelligence.

In European corporate news, Euronext is attracting significant interest (+5.06%). Over the first three months of the year, the pan-European exchange operator's revenue increased by 15.3% to 528.5 million euros, while adjusted net profit jumped 17.7% to 216.1 million euros.

Stellantis (+0.16%) has announced its intention to create a European joint venture with Dongfeng dedicated to sales and distribution, production, purchasing, and engineering activities.

Also within the CAC 40, Legrand (+1.27%) unveiled the acquisition of SRS Power Engineering in Malaysia, a company generating 90 million euros in annual revenue and specializing in power protection products (low and medium voltage) primarily for data centers and industry.

For its part, Vallourec (+1.88%) announced it has secured two contracts to provide ExxonMobil with over 145 km of pipeline, representing 40,000 tonnes of tubes. To support this development, the group will invest in modernizing one of its sites in Brazil.

Elsewhere in Europe, the British firm Experian (-5.54%) announced a new one-billion-dollar share buyback program.

Uniper is soaring by 21.46% as the German state considers a partial or total sale of its stake.

CSG is in demand (+9.13%) following the publication of its quarterly results and a solid industrial outlook.