The Paris Bourse is trading at historic, previously unexplored levels, above 7,665 points (+0.3%), driven in particular by Capgemini and Publicis Groupe (+1.3%).

The Paris market was also buoyed by the cascade of records set on Wall Street, gaining 4.4% in the space of ten days.

The prevailing sentiment on the stock market is one of optimism", sums up Christopher Dembik, Investment Strategy Advisor at Pictet AM.

"Even if there are uncertainties about the future of monetary policy, which are likely to be confirmed by the Federal Reserve this week, investors believe that the economy is sufficiently solid and that corporate results are on track", adds the analyst, who considers equities to be "resilient and essential".

While there is little doubt that the Fed will maintain its "status quo" tomorrow, market participants will be looking to Jerome Powell's speech for clues as to the timing of future rate cuts.

On the indicators front, Friday's release of the monthly US employment report will provide further information on the US economy.

For the time being, traders' attention will be focused on the first estimate of fourth-quarter gross domestic product in the eurozone.

In France, GDP remained stable in the fourth quarter, according to data published this morning by Insee, after having already remained unchanged in the third quarter. On average over 2023, French GDP rose by 0.9% (after +2.5% in 2022 and +6.4% in 2021).

Investors are also awaiting the results of tech giants Microsoft, Alphabet and AMD, which are due this evening and on which they are pinning high hopes.

"This is an extremely important session for anyone wishing to know whether the stock market rally, which is essentially the result of confidence in tech stocks, will continue", believes Christopher Dembik.

Alexandre Baradez, head of market analysis at IG France, moderates: "There will be no room for error, as the results season has so far been fairly average.

Baradez points out that US equities are currently trading in an expensive environment, with the S&P 500 paying 20 times expected earnings, despite persistently high interest rates.

"Any below-expectation publication from a tech giant this week will probably lead to quick gains on US indices, to loosen valuation multiples a little", he warns.

For the time being, the lull in the bond market continues to offer support to the equity markets.

US Treasury yields are back on the decline, with the 10-year falling to 4.05% (-3.5 pts) ahead of the Fed's verdict. Across the Rhine, 10-year Bunds are stagnating at around 2.23%.

Brent crude is stable at around $82.5 a barrel. The euro is also stable against the greenback, at around $1.08/E.

In French company news, Seb announces the construction of its first professional equipment hub in Shaoxing, in China's Zhejiang province, which should be operational by 2025 and will include an R&D center, purchasing and a production site.

Engie announces the signing of a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Amazon for 123 MW from Ocean Winds' Moray West offshore wind farm, off the coast of Scotland, bringing the total to 473 MW when the site becomes operational later this year.

Last night, Egide forecast sales growth of 8.7% in 2023, but warned that geopolitical factors would have a slowing effect on its business this year, a prospect that caused its share price to fall sharply.

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