The Paris stock market gained nearly 0.3% this morning to 7,954 points, erasing the previous day's decline thanks to the support of Alstom (+2.5%), Legrand (+2.4%) and Renault (+1.9%).

At mid-week, all eyes turn to the US Congress, where Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak this afternoon.

Traders are expecting Powell to reaffirm his commitment to a cautious approach to rate cuts, but will be on the lookout for any hint of such a possibility.

We shouldn't expect him to reveal much about the rate-cutting process," moderates Christopher Dembik, Investment Strategy Advisor at Pictet AM

. "He should simply confirm that the central bank will, at some stage, cut rates, but that it's still too early to do so," he explains.

In addition to Jerome Powell's parliamentary address, the day will be marked by the publication, in the evening, of the Fed's Beige Book, which should describe a US economy that is certainly growing, but modest, far from the euphoria recently seen on the equity markets.

Before that, investors will have taken note of the ADP survey on private-sector employment in the USA, which will be closely followed two days before the monthly report from the Department of Labor.

In Europe, the morning will be dominated by retail sales figures in the eurozone, which should confirm that European households are now more inclined to save than to consume.

A lot of good news now seems to be priced in, which could limit stock market gains, even in the event of good surprises, given that many indices are trading at all-time highs.

So much so that some analysts currently fear the formation of a 'bubble' in the financial markets.

This could justify a restrictive monetary policy for some time to come, as premature rate cuts could further inflate asset prices and generate a new wave of inflationary pressures", warns JPMorgan.

While acknowledging that equity markets may indeed need a break, eToro's teams believe that the rally is underpinned by solid fundamentals.

"Markets tend to follow trends, which means that new highs often lead to further highs", reminds Ben Laidler, global strategist for the Israeli neo-broker.

In other French news, TotalEnergies has signed an agreement with its partner QatarEnergy to acquire interests in Block 3B/4B, offshore South Africa, from Africa Oil South Africa, Azinam and Ricocure.

Virbac announces the signature of a definitive agreement with ORIX Corporation for the acquisition of its animal health subsidiary Sasaeah for an enterprise value of around 280 million euros, a transaction that will enable the French company to take a leading position in Japan.

Finally, Dassault Aviation has published sales of 4.8 billion euros in 2023, compared with nearly 7 billion euros in 2022. Adjusted net income will reach a 'record' level at 886 million euros, compared with 830 million euros in 2022, thanks to the strong contribution of Thales to net income.

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