By 8:15 a.m., the "future" contract on the CAC 40 index – January delivery – was down nine points at 8 305 points, indicating a cautious opening in line with the nature of trading since the start of the week.

The return of geopolitical risks, concerns about the independence of the Fed, and a rather mixed start to earnings season in the United States have clearly weighed on sentiment this week, as has the temptation to take some profits after a roaring start to 2026 and a largely successful 2025.

At this stage of the week, however, the CAC shows only a limited drop of just 0.6% and remains close to its all-time high of 8 396.7 points, briefly reached during yesterday morning's session.

Reassured by strong earnings from several major banks and the optimistic outlook shared by Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC on its results call, the New York Stock Exchange returned to gains on Thursday, with performances ranging from 0.2% for the Nasdaq to 0.6% for the Dow Jones at the closing bell. The S&P 500 climbed about 0.3%.

Alongside earnings season, investors calmly received a series of robust economic indicators (weekly jobless claims, Empire State and Philly Fed) that nevertheless run counter to their hoped-for scenario of a slowdown sufficient to justify further interest rate cuts.

"These figures confirm that the American economy has not fallen into recession. On the contrary, it seems to be operating quite steadily," notes Linh Tran, market analyst at XS.com.

"The market seems to have accepted the idea that interest rates will remain elevated for some time, but also that growth is holding up and companies continue to generate cash," she adds.

Linh Tran particularly notes that yesterday's session saw neither a generalized risk-on move nor a frantic rush into growth stocks, which reflects a balanced market that has accepted the current monetary policy framework.

"When risk appetite is strong, the Nasdaq usually outperforms the S&P 500. Yet, the fact that both moved almost in tandem yesterday shows that investors remain cautious and are diversifying their capital more carefully, rather than betting everything on highly speculative stocks," she explains.

"In my view, this is actually a rather healthy signal," concludes the XS.com analyst.

Alongside the rebound in equities, the dollar is edging lower and U.S. Treasury yields are stabilizing, which seems to indicate reduced risk aversion.

While Trump has confirmed he has abandoned plans to fire Jerome Powell, the Fed chairman, the ten-year note stands at 4.16%, in the middle of its six-month trading range, while the euro is climbing towards 1.1615 against the greenback.

Oil prices are also attempting to stabilize after their sharp correction the day before, following the U.S. president's move to temper threats of intervention in Iran. Brent crude from the North Sea is up 0.1% at $63.8, and West Texas Intermediate is also gaining 0.1% at $59.2.

Safe-haven assets, precious metals are consolidating after recent records, with silver dropping nearly 2% to $90.6 per ounce and gold slipping 0.3% to $4 611.2 per ounce.

Today's agenda looks rather quiet in the absence of major economic indicators or corporate earnings, a calm that could be reinforced by the prospect of a three-day weekend on Wall Street with the "Martin Luther King Jr. Day" holiday on Monday in the United States.