The Paris Bourse is set to open slightly lower on Tuesday morning, as government bond yields continue to fall two days ahead of the European Central Bank (ECB) meeting.

At around 8:15 a.m., the 'future' contract on the CAC 40 index - for delivery at the end of June - was down 21 points at 7977.5, suggesting that the market may open in negative territory.

After a favorable start to the session - which saw it briefly reach 8070 points - the Paris market disappointed yesterday, posting an insignificant gain of less than 0.1% to 7998 points.

For almost a month now, the European stock markets have halted their upward movement, with investors reluctant to push indices to new record highs until they know more about the evolution of monetary policies.

Markets are therefore likely to remain cautious until the ECB's decisions are announced on Thursday, followed by a much-anticipated press conference by President Christine Lagarde.

The ECB's two-day meeting is expected to conclude with a 25 basis point cut in key rates, bringing them down to 3.75% for the deposit facility.

However, investors will be paying close attention to any hint of the future path of rates, given that inflationary pressures are only gradually receding on the Old Continent.

Some strategists are nevertheless expecting limited movements from indices, given the ECB's usually cautious approach to its outlook.

Danske Bank analysts predict that "the market reaction may well prove to be lacklustre, as has been the case following previous Governing Council meetings, and the announcement of a 25-point cut may well be regarded as a non-event by the markets".

In parallel with the ECB's decisions, on Friday market participants will be following the publication of the monthly US employment report, which will provide them with further food for thought on the US economic situation.

While we await the ECB's announcements, yields on benchmark government bonds in the eurozone are beginning to ease sharply after a particularly complicated end to May.

The German 10-year - which last week hit its highest level since mid-November - stands at 2.58%.

Yields on French OATs of the same maturity also eased to 3.05%, despite S&P's decision to downgrade France's credit rating, which had been well anticipated by the markets.

In the United States, the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds fell for the third consecutive session, to 4.39%, in the wake of yesterday's much weaker-than-expected ISM manufacturing index.

On the economic front, Tuesday will be marked by unemployment figures in Germany, followed by industrial orders in the United States.

On the oil front, Brent North Sea crude oil continued to fall below $80 a barrel for the first time since February, despite the extension by Opep+ of its production limitation agreement.

In New York, US equity markets began the week and the month of June on a mixed note on Monday, torn between the continued rise of Nvidia and the heaviness of oil stocks.

Despite a few tactical buybacks at the end of the session, the Dow Jones fell by 0.3% at the close, while the Nasdaq managed to gain just under 0.6%, still buoyed by the strong performance of the 'Magnificent Seven'.

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