The Paris Bourse closed the session with a gain of +0.51% to 7,179 pts, driven by Airbus (4.1%) and Edenred (+2.9%), while the CAC40 posted a slightly unexpected rebound of +0.8% to 7,200 pts by mid-afternoon (erasing the -0.7% lost the previous day).

Since its all-time high in May, the CAC 40 index has fallen by 13.5% (and is down -5% since January 1st), while the Euro STOXX 50 has posted a limited gain of +5.5% at this stage of the year, a far cry from the S&P 500's surge of over 25% since the start of the year.

Today, investors seem to consider that the political risk is 'taken' after three straight sessions in the red.

The Barnier government's budget (in 3 parts) has still not been ratified by the National Assembly and has been sent back to the Senate where it should be amended, but with no guarantee that its final version can be validated by both Chambers.

A motion of censure will be tabled by the left and the suspense concerns its adoption by the 'RN' group before this weekend.

Another suspense: Will Standard & Poors downgrade French debt tomorrow?
Bond markets seem to think not.

Beyond the political question, the economic, fiscal and geopolitical concerns affecting Europe are still prompting investors to be cautious, and seem to prevent any immediate stock market recovery.

The session in Europe was enlivened by the latest inflation figures for Germany, which rose to 2.2% (unfavorable base effect compared with November 2023 on energy costs).

The New York Stock Exchange will reopen tomorrow, but only for half a day ('Black Friday').

Still on the bond front, the yield on French debt eased by -6.5pts to 2.954%, while its Greek equivalent erased -7.1pts to 2.9500%.

The German Bund eases by -3.5pts to 2.132%, with the spread between France and Germany narrowing slightly to +82 basis points (vs. +88pts on Tuesday), and 45 points before the June 9 dissolution.

Oil prices are little changed, as investors wait to see how OPEC+, which meets next week, will react to ongoing geopolitical tensions and current economic uncertainties.

Brent crude is down -0.3% to $73.2 a barrel, and US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) is down 0.2% to just under $68.6 (not significant, market closed).

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