The Paris stock market looks set for a record 5th close: the CAC40 climbed 0.2% to 7,810 points (new all-time high at 7,822).
Once again, it's worth noting the low volumes on the all-time highs (less than 1.4 billion euros traded in 8 hours) and the range of stocks that are driving the market to new heights: Carrefour (+5%) accounts for 100% of the CAC's gains today.
The Euro-Stoxx50 (+0.2% to 4,770) could also achieve a "winning double", with a close above 4,765 (now a formality) and an intraday high of 4,783 (less than 1Pt short at 13:30).

Wall Street reopened slightly lower, with staggered losses: -0.2% for the S&P500 and Dow Jones, -0.6% for the Nasdaq (weighed down by Palo-Alto, which plunged -26% on a 'warning' concerning its sales in 2024 (federal orders are behind schedule).
But even with the day's declines, the US indices' opening levels of the previous day are preserved... but what counts is what Nvidia (-2%) will announce after the close, much more than the Fed's 'minutes' (the meeting goes back 3 weeks but could provide clues as to the potential future trajectory of US rate cuts).
Analysts are expecting Nvidia's quarterly results to exceed market expectations (profit multiplied by 5), and for the group to raise its annual targets (beyond $60 billion in annual sales, as this amount is already in the market).

Any disappointment could be enough to trigger a correction, given that the share price has gained 40% since the start of the year and more than 230% over the past 12 months (the stock pays between 20 and 25 times its sales, based on the most optimistic expectations).
Christopher Dembik, Investment Strategy Consultant at Pictet Asset Management, points out that over the last eight years, Nvidia has exceeded consensus expectations on seven occasions. This will certainly be the case again", he prophesies.

"This is what the options market is waiting for", concludes the analyst.

"Options movements suggest that the stock could fluctuate by around 10.5% in either direction after the results, so be prepared for fireworks after the close", agrees Jim Reid, market analyst at Deutsche Bank.

By way of indication, some $50 billion worth of shares were traded yesterday, almost the equivalent of what was traded on the CAC 40 in the space of a month.

On the rates market, heaviness prevailed once again on Wednesday after six negative weeks, resulting in the yield on ten-year Treasuries rising above 4.295%.
In Europe, Bunds of the same maturity are down +1.5 basis points to 2.426%, and the same applies to our OATs, which are up +2.5 basis points to 2.91%.
Calm ahead of the FED's "minutes": the euro is perfectly stable against the greenback, at around 1.0810.
The euro did not react to the German government's lowering of growth forecasts from +0.4% to +0.2%.

Oil prices continue to move within narrow limits, torn between the current crisis in the Middle East on the one hand, and the prospects of OPEC+ support and improved risk appetite in the run-up to the US rate-cutting cycle on the other.

Brent crude is down 0.1% at $82.5/barrel, while gold is up $2 at $2,027/oz.

In French company news, Edenred falls -12% on the opening of an investigation into its activities in Italy: the Rome public prosecutor's office is investigating offences of aggravated fraud, rigging of a public contract and various administrative offences.

Carrefour is the biggest riser on the CAC40 after the publication of its results last night.
The retailer reported 2023 sales of 94.13 billion euros (+10.4% on a comparable basis), adjusted net income (group share) of 1304 ME (+7.6%), and adjusted EPS of 1.83 euros (+12%): Carrefour also announced a near doubling of its dividend.

Meanwhile, Airbus announced this morning that Taiwan's Starlux Airlines had placed a firm order for five brand-new A350F freighters and three additional A330neo wide-body jets, at the Singapore Air Show.

Technip Energies announced on Wednesday that it had made a 'strategic' investment in a fund dedicated to the development of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).

Thales announced a contract with Malaysia Airlines under which 20 Airbus A330neo aircraft in its fleet will be equipped with its Flight Management System (FMS), as well as with ACSS' Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems (T3CAS).

Finally, Airbus and TotalEnergies have signed a strategic partnership to meet the challenges of decarbonizing the aviation sector through sustainable aviation fuels.

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