One eye on geopolitics...

The situation in the Middle East remains at an impasse, particularly as the U.S. President stated yesterday that the ceasefire between the two countries was 'on life support'. This move was intended to ramp up pressure on Tehran following Washington's rejection of a counter-proposal deemed unacceptable across the Atlantic. For its part, Iran reacted through its lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, stating, 'we are prepared for any eventuality; they will be surprised'.

Consequently, crude oil prices continue their ascent. In New York, WTI is up 3.70% at 101.57 dollars, while in London, North Sea Brent has gained 2.77% to reach 107.41 dollars.

The rise in barrel prices is logically benefiting sector stocks, such as TotalEnergies, which is up 1.26%, marking one of the strongest gains on the CAC 40.

On the currency market, the euro is retreating against the greenback (-0.27%) and is trading at 1.1746 dollars.

... the other on macroeconomics

Investors have several key indicators to monitor today, the primary one being U.S. inflation scheduled for 2:30 p.m. The Consumer Price Index is expected to rise by 0.6% for the month of April, bringing the year-on-year increase to 3.7%.

Market participants have already noted German inflation, which rose as expected by 0.6% in April, representing a 2.9% annual increase, a figure also in line with previous estimates. According to Destatis, the German federal statistics office, the general rise in consumer prices has intensified once again. According to Ruth Brand, President of Destatis: 'Headline inflation has increased for the second consecutive month due to a further rise in energy prices linked to the war in Iran. Consumers are particularly feeling the persistent pressure on fuel prices'.

Also in Germany, the ZEW index measuring economic sentiment came in above expectations for May. While a deterioration from -17.2 to -19.8 points was feared, it instead improved to -10.2 points, its best level since February.

Corporate news

In Paris, EssilorLuxottica is down 1.53%, weighed down by a note from Deutsche Bank, which initiated coverage of the stock with a 'hold' rating and a price target of 183 euros.

Showing better momentum, SES posted the strongest gain on the SBF 120 with a 6.23% rise, pulling Eutelsat (+3.19%) up in its wake. SES published solid quarterly data that beat expectations and confirmed its annual financial targets.

In Frankfurt, Bayer jumped 6.01%, the top performer on the Euro Stoxx 50 following its quarterly results. The pharmaceutical and agrochemical specialist reported first-quarter organic revenue growth of 4.1% to 13.405 billion euros.

Conversely, Prosus tumbled 6.55% following an unscheduled voluntary trading update. Jefferies estimates that the current consensus for adjusted EBITDA for 2027 is approximately 25% too high. Consequently, investors are anticipating a downward revision of targets.