The Paris Bourse is set to open higher on Friday morning, but without much conviction, with caution prevailing against a backdrop of questions about the pace of inflation and the changing political landscape in France.

At around 8:15 a.m., the 'future' contract on the CAC 40 index - July delivery - climbed 14.5 points to 7559 points, signalling a slightly positive opening for this last session of the week, of the month of June and of the first half of the year.

Many investors should refrain from taking on too much risk before the results of Sunday's first round of French parliamentary elections are known.

'If the latest polls are to be believed, the most likely scenario is that of a parliament without a majority and without a dominant party', point out Danske Bank analysts.

In such a context, the markets' worst fears of vast increases in budget spending should subside, as the new government will inevitably have to accept compromises in order to pass its bills', stresses the Danish bank.

Another subject of attention is the evolution of inflation in the USA, an acceleration of which could jeopardize the prospect of monetary easing by the Federal Reserve.

A clear majority (57.9%) of market participants still expect the Fed to cut rates at the end of its September meeting, but strong growth and persistent inflation have called into question the idea that the Fed could make several rate cuts this year.

Investors should therefore pay close attention to the release, at 2.30pm, of the PCE price index, the Fed's preferred measure of inflation.

The average of economists' estimates gives an annualized figure of 2.6% for the 'PCE' index in May, down from +2.7% in April.

Several eurozone countries are also due to publish preliminary estimates of their June inflation rates, with France and Spain again expected to see a decline.

These inflation figures are likely to trigger a reaction in bond yields, starting with the 10-year Treasuries rate, which fell back below 4.29% yesterday.

The easing in T-Bonds enabled Wall Street to get back in touch with its all-time highs on Thursday evening, an encouraging factor on the eve of the final stock market session of the first half of the year.

However, the political news in the United States also prompted caution, as Donald Trump appeared to be much more convincing than Joe Biden last night, during the first debate between the two main presidential candidates.

According to a CNN poll conducted overnight, Donald Trump won this first televised duel in the run-up to the November elections by a wide margin, with 67% of viewers giving him the victory as opposed to 33% for the outgoing president, who was judged to be tired and confused.

On the oil market, crude prices remain on an upward trend, heading for a third consecutive week of gains.

A barrel of US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) gained nearly 0.7% to $82.3 a barrel, while Brent gained 0.6% to around $86.9.

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