The Paris stock market ended the session perfectly still, at 7426 points (+0.00%), in limited volumes, with barely 2.3 billion euros traded since the opening.

The few statistics on the agenda did not move investors: production in the French manufacturing industry rose slightly in November by +0.3% after +0.2% in October, and rebounded in industry as a whole (+0.5% after -0.3%), according to Insee's CVS-CJO data.

Across the Atlantic, wholesaler inventories in the USA fell slightly again, by 0.2% in November 2023, according to the Commerce Department, after -0.3% in October... data which is 2 months old and irrelevant for determining future trends.

Finally, the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) reported that US crude oil inventories stood at 432.4 million barrels for the week ending January 1, signalling a modest increase of 1.3 million barrels on the previous week.

Following this latest announcement, Brent crude oil erased its +1.4% gain (to $78.6) to fall back to equilibrium at $77.5 a barrel, while WTI was also stable at $72.3 a barrel.

Market initiatives remain limited ahead of a busy weekend of economic indicators and results.

This wait-and-see mood is likely to prevail until tomorrow's release of US inflation data, which will help determine the trajectory of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy.

The fourth-quarter earnings season for US companies is also set to kick off on Friday, with releases from major banking groups JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo.

On the bond front, US T-Bonds are easing -1Pt to 4.005%, while Bunds and our OATs are up +1Pt to 2.199% and 2.7320% respectively.

On the currency front, the euro is accelerating against the dollar, gaining +0.3% to $1.09/E.

In company news, Valneva announces the vaccination of the first participant in its Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating the safety and immunogenicity of two different doses of its single-injection chikungunya vaccine in children.

TotalEnergies announces that it has signed an agreement with Impact Oil and Gas Namibia (Pty) Ltd to acquire additional interests of 10.5% in Block 2913B and 9.39% in Block 2912, operated by the French oil and gas group in Namibia.

Finally, Vantiva (formerly known as Technicolor) announces the completion of a reserved capital increase of nearly 87.6 million euros, paid up by debt set-off, with cancellation of the preferential subscription right in favor of CommScope.

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