The Paris stock market gained nearly 1% this morning, around the 7,500-point mark, helped by EssilorLuxottica (+7.7%), Hermès (+5%) and Dassault Systèmes (+4%).

Paris is attempting to bounce back after two sessions in the doldrums, marked by the disappointing results of a number of blue-chip companies, such as STMicroelectronics, Kering and Stellantis.

"When results are below expectations, companies are very heavily punished", points out Christopher Dembik, investment strategy advisor at Pictet AM.

"When results are above expectations, however, they are scarcely hailed", emphasizes the analyst.

US equity markets also saw significant sell-offs this week, as investors continued to shed major technology stocks following less than reassuring earnings releases from Alphabet and Tesla.

Christopher Dembik warns: "The market is clearly over-reacting to the downturn, and this is likely to continue in the days and weeks ahead.

In a sign of the prevailing nervousness, Wall Street experienced another volatile session yesterday, fuelling further profit-taking on the tech giants, with the Nasdaq ending down almost 1%.

The market certainly needed to take a break and return to more attractive valuation levels, which we hope will enable a return to the upside in the autumn", explains Christopher Dembik.

Against this tense backdrop, investors are likely to remain cautious as they await the early afternoon release of the US 'PCE' index, the Fed's preferred measure of inflation.

An unpleasant surprise could drive the markets down further, forcing them to re-evaluate their projections, which for the time being are based on the expectation of two rate cuts in the US by the end of the year.

On the bond market, the yield on 10-year US Treasuries climbed back above 4.25% ahead of the release of the PCE index and the Fed's policy meeting next week.

The oil market has risen slightly, but is heading for a third consecutive week of declines in the face of a sudden surge in global risk aversion.

Brent crude is stable at around $82.3 a barrel, while the euro is stable against the greenback at $1.084/E.

In French company news, EssilorLuxottica reports adjusted net income (group share) of 1.75 billion euros for the first six months of 2024, up 5.5% (+10.6% at constant exchange rates), and an adjusted operating margin of 18.3% (+0.5 points to 18.8% excluding currency effects).

Capgemini reported a 3% increase in net income to 835 million euros, with a stable operating margin of 12.4% on sales down 2.5% to just over 11.1 billion euros.

Amundi reported a 9.4% increase in adjusted net income to 350 million euros for the second quarter of 2024, thanks to growth in adjusted net income (+7.7% to 887 million) and a positive scissors effect.

Bouygues reported net income, group share, down 17% to €186 million for the first six months of 2024, but operating profit from ordinary activities (ROCA) up 3% to €747 million, an increase 'largely driven by Equans'.

Lastly, Air Liquide reported a 3.3% increase in recurring net income, Group share (RNRPG) to 1.68 billion euros (+16% excluding the currency effect) for the first half of 2024, with an operating margin of 19.4% (+100 basis points excluding the energy effect).

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