The Paris Bourse is set to open with little change on Tuesday morning, as investors seem to be running out of steam ahead of the end of an undeniably successful trading year.

At around 8:15 a.m., the future contract on the CAC 40 index - now on the January expiry date - was up 14 points at 7607.5, suggesting a stable or even slightly upbeat start to the session.

The last sessions before the festive season are usually buoyant, but the questions surrounding interest rates could weigh on trading in the absence of any real catalysts.

Last Friday, New York Fed President John Williams cooled the markets' ardor by declaring that it was "premature" to envisage a Fed rate cut as early as March.

His counterpart at the Atlanta Fed, Raphael Bostic, echoed this view, saying that an easing of the Fed's monetary policy was not "imminent".

While 2023 is shaping up to be one of the best stock market years in over a decade, it seems unlikely that there will be any major profit-taking between now and the New Year.

The CAC 40 reached a new all-time high of over 7653.9 points last Thursday, a record that should not be the last, thanks to the good performance of its various technical indicators, according to chart analysts.

'The CAC 40 index should gain a few more points', forecast the chartists at Kiplink Finance, who point out that the final sessions of the year are often the time for balance sheet dressing-up.

The more conciliatory approach of central banks, the main driving force behind this year's surge in equity markets, should also remain in place and continue to support them next year.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) maintained its ultra-accommodative monetary policy on Tuesday, as expected, leaving short rates still firmly anchored in negative territory.

And the latest comments from its officials do not presage a radical change with a view to normalizing its policy in 2024.

On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei index finished up 1.4% after these conclusions.

With the exception of the final Eurozone inflation figures for November and the latest statistics on residential construction in the USA, the day's macroeconomic agenda is virtually empty.

The rest of the week will nevertheless be marked on Friday by the release of the 'PCE' inflation index in the USA - closely followed by the Fed - which will be the highlight of the week this Friday.

On the bond market, the upward "rally" of recent weeks is taking a slight breather, but this remains a matter of consolidation or simple technical pullback.

At around 3.95%, the yield on ten-year Treasuries remains well below the technical threshold of 4%, while the yield on the German Bund, the benchmark for the eurozone as a whole, is barely down at 2.08%.

Oil prices are back on the rise after months of underperformance, buoyed by the growing number of attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels, close to Iran, on ships in the Red Sea, which are disrupting maritime trade.

Brent crude this morning gained 0.1% to $78 a barrel, while US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) consolidated by just 0.1% to $72.4.

Copyright (c) 2023 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.