While the Fed opted to maintain its monetary policy on Wednesday evening in its first policy decision of 2026, former governor Kevin Warsh—a supporter of the interest rate cut policy advocated by Donald Trump—could be named this Friday as the successor to Jerome Powell.

On the equities front, Electrolux (+15.93%) is soaring on the stock market after posting fourth-quarter results that exceeded expectations.

Adidas shares (+5.76%) are also on a roll, following the announcement of record sales in 2025 and a share buyback plan that could reach 1 billion EUR.

In Paris, Alten (+12.16%) is leading the SBF 120 index after a better-than-expected fourth quarter.

Carrefour (-0.90%) is the worst performer on the Paris benchmark, with the retail giant penalized by a downgrade from Jefferies, which shifted its recommendation from buy to hold and lowered its price target from 14.50 to 14 EUR.

Several statistics have already set the pace for the morning trading session.

French GDP growth slowed to 0.2% in the fourth quarter of 2025, down from 0.5% in the previous quarter, while the economy grew by 0.9% over the full year, according to Insee.

German Inflation in the Spotlight

 Elsewhere, the unemployment rate in the eurozone fell to 6.2% in December, compared to 6.3% expected and after 6.3% in November, according to data published Friday by Eurostat.

Other key data are expected in the afternoon, including German inflation for January (14:30), US producer prices (14:30), and the Chicago PMI index (15:45).

On the currency market, the euro is down 0.40% and is trading at 1.1919 USD.

In commodities, oil prices were down 1.96% for Brent and 1.93% for WTI as of around 11:30 am.