After gaining up to 1.5% at midday, the Paris Bourse ended the session with a gain of 0.76%, at 7531 points, with the help of Teleperformance, which took 10.4%, ahead of Legrand (+6.5%) and Airbus (+4.8%).

Across the Atlantic, the S&P500 gained +1.6% (to 5,522) behind the Nasdaq, which took +2.5%. The Dow Jones gained 0.5%.

On the statistics front, one figure was published in the early afternoon in the US: private-sector job creation. According to ADP, 122,000 jobs were created in July, below expectations, with a consensus of around 160,000.000 new jobs

The human resources firm points out that wage growth slowed to 4.8% year-on-year in July, a deceleration it attributes to the Fed's efforts to counteract inflation.

If inflation ever picks up again, it won't be because of labor", warns Nela Richardson, ADP's chief economist.

The NFP expected on Friday should be around +160,000 new jobs, compared with 206,000 in June.000 in June.

The main 'monetary' event of the day will take place after the close of the European markets, with the publication of the Fed's monetary policy statement at 8.00 pm, following 2 days of debate.

The central bank is not expected to change its key rates or make any spectacular announcements, but investors will be watching for signs of further rate cuts, given that inflation in the USA is now approaching its 2% target.

Jay Powell should (...) confirm the high probability of the start of a monetary easing cycle in September, which the market has already taken for granted", predicts Christopher Dembik, Investment Strategy Advisor at Pictet AM.

According to the CME Group's FedWatch barometer, the possibility of a 25 basis point rate cut in the autumn is now estimated at over 87%.

While awaiting the Fed's verdict, the Bank of Japan overnight raised its key rate to 0.25%, continuing the process of normalizing its monetary policy after years of ultra-accommodative approach.

For Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, this decision should be interpreted as a 'sign of confidence and a message that the economy is now in a sufficiently solid situation'.

Canada had done the opposite the day before, cutting its key rate by -0.25% for the second time this summer.

In China, the purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the non-manufacturing sector fell to 50.2 in July, compared with 50.5 in June, which could call for further measures to support activity on Beijing's part.

In Europe, the latest inflation figures for the eurozone thwarted expectations of a deceleration in price rises seen for almost two years now.

Expected to fall from 2.5% to 2.4% year-on-year, CPI instead rose from +0.1% to +2.6%, and core inflation held steady at +2.9% (vs. 2.8% expected).
Furthermore, in France, consumer prices rose by 2.3% in July 2024, a slight acceleration on the previous month's +2.2%, according to Insee's provisional one-year estimate at the end of the month,

. The bond markets - paradoxically - digested these figures well, with T-bonds at 4.10%, OATs at 3.01% and Bunds at 2.31%.

On the foreign exchange market, the euro climbed +0.1% above 1.0825 against the dollar.

Oil prices - so far unaffected by the renewed tension in the Middle East - rallied as data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 433 million barrels for the week ending July 22, down 3.4 million barrels on the previous week. A barrel of Brent crude is now trading for $80.5 (+1.8%).

In French company news, Teleperformance last night reported sales of €5,076m for the first half of 2024, up 28.2% on a reported basis (+1.7% on a pro forma basis). Adjusted net income was ME432, up 25.9%, with net free cash flow of ME448 (+45%).

For its part, Legrand this morning reported net income (group share) down 11.3% to ME577.6 for the first six months of 2024, with adjusted operating margin before acquisitions down 1.4 points to 20.8% of sales.

Danone reports recurring EPS up 2.6% to 1.80 euros for the first six months of 2024, with recurring operating margin improving by 45 basis points to nearly 12.7%, driven by a sharp rise in operating margin.


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