The Paris Bourse is heading for a third consecutive session of decline on Wednesday morning, in a very cautious market on the eve of the publication of August's employment figures.

At around 8:15 a.m., the future contract on the CAC 40 index - expiring in September - lost 24 points at 7,492 points, heralding an opening in the red but in lesser proportions than over the past two days.

After dropping more than 0.9% on Tuesday, the Paris market had lost almost 1% again yesterday, although it just managed to hold above the psychologically important 7,500-point threshold.

On Wall Street, the US equity markets experienced a more indecisive session on Wednesday, as investors struggled to recover from Tuesday's blow.

New York's main indices ended the day in disarray, after a session in which volatility was virtually extinguished, in contrast to the previous day's scenario.

While the Dow Jones managed to claw back 0.1%, the Nasdaq Composite failed to hold on to its meagre morning gains, falling by 0.3% in the end.

Investors are likely to be reluctant to reposition themselves as buyers ahead of tomorrow's August employment figures, which are expected to be decisive for the direction of the markets.

Unlike previous releases, this time investors are looking for reassurance on the strength of the job market and economic activity in general.

For the record, economists are expecting an average of 165,000 jobs to be created, after the 114,000 announced for July, for an unemployment rate down to 4.2% from 4.3% the previous month.

A reason for caution, the "Jolts" report published yesterday showed that the labor market was deteriorating faster than expected, with a 3.3% drop in "open" job vacancies in the United States.

In a context where doubts are beginning to set in about the intensity of the economic slowdown, today's statistics will also be closely watched.

On the indicators front, this afternoon investors will take note of US jobless claims, the ADP private employment survey and the ISM services index.

While the soft-landing scenario has recently been put to the test, traders are hoping for some positive surprises, which would rule out the possibility of another recession.

In Europe, industrial order figures are expected in Germany, followed by retail sales figures for the eurozone, which should confirm the gloomy economic situation on the Old Continent.

On the bond market, traders are welcoming the words of Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, who yesterday denounced the risk of leaving rates at 'restrictive levels for too long'.

As a result, the yield on 10-year US Treasuries is easing spectacularly towards 3.78%, the lowest in almost 12 months.

Copyright (c) 2024 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.