European stock markets are expected to remain on a downward trend Thursday morning, with investors opting for caution as they await the release of a series of new economic indicators that could shed light on the trajectory of central bank interest rates.

As of 8:10 a.m., the "future" contract on the CAC 40 index – for end-of-January delivery – was down 16 points at 8,223, signaling a continuation of the consolidation movement that began the previous day.

In line with other major global exchanges, the Paris market experienced a slight pullback yesterday, down less than 0.1%, after starting the year with three consecutive sessions of gains that had allowed it to climb 1.1% since New Year's Eve and once again breach the 8,200-point threshold.

Selling pressure was relatively broad-based, though it was not possible to pinpoint a single, clearly decisive factor, even if several elements weighed on the trend.

On Wall Street, the hardest-hit sector yesterday was real estate, after President Donald Trump announced he would ban large investment funds from buying single-family homes, a measure aimed at lowering prices that have been driven up by a supply shortage.

Following this announcement, giants Blackstone and Apollo both dropped more than 5%.

The American president also announced a series of measures to block dividend payments and share buybacks by defense companies until they accelerate production and improve cost efficiency, which weighed on stocks such as Lockheed Martin (-4.8%), Northrop Grumman (-5.5%), and General Dynamics (-3.6%) at the close of trading in New York.

In an already tense context, tensions over Greenland flared up again after Trump explicitly revived his ambitions to take control of the Arctic island, citing its strategic importance for American defense and access to mineral resources.

Adding in mixed economic statistics – highlighted by a strong ISM services activity index but more concerning jobs data – the Dow Jones ended down 0.9% and the S&P 500 fell 0.3% after setting records the previous day, while the Nasdaq managed to edge up 0.2%.

Investors are now awaiting U.S. jobless claims data, which will be closely watched to assess the Federal Reserve's monetary policy direction on the eve of the official employment report.

In the eurozone, where hopes for further rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB) are fading, market participants are awaiting producer price statistics and the unemployment rate, the latter expected to remain stable in November as it has for the previous six months, reflecting the stability of the European labor market.

This renewed caution on equities is translating into easing bond yields, with the U.S. ten-year note falling back to 4.13%, while the euro drops below the 1.17 mark against the dollar, once again illustrating a renewed risk aversion.

On the oil front, prices are rising again, with expectations of a possible increase in exports due to the American plan to release up to 50 million Venezuelan barrels held under blockade being more than offset by geopolitical tensions following the seizure of a Russia-affiliated tanker, which drew condemnation from Moscow and Beijing.