The Paris Bourse is set to open with narrow spreads again on Wednesday morning, a wait-and-see attitude that betrays investors' lack of inspiration despite the cascade of records set on Wall Street.

At around 8.15am, the 'future' contract on the CAC 40 index - January delivery - advanced 18 points to 7617.5, heralding a barely positive start to the session.

After setting new all-time highs above 7,600 points at the end of last week, the Paris market seems to have entered a phase of horizontal consolidation since the start of the week.

As a result, the CAC index now appears to be stuck within a narrow corridor between 7550 and 7580 points.

Graphically and fundamentally, the bullish movement remains very active, but after this long upward sequence and with only a few days to go before the end of the 2023 financial year, the search for catalysts seems to be lacking", explain the analysts at Kiplink Finance.

The race for absolute records continues in New York, where the Dow Jones climbed 0.7% yesterday, while the Nasdaq Composite (also +0.7%) broke through the 15,000-point threshold once again.000 points.

Variations could be more limited today, in the absence of any major economic event and pending tomorrow's release of the latest US inflation figures.

These data could provide investors with further clues as to the pace of rate cuts expected from the US Federal Reserve next year.

By contrast, the macroeconomic agenda looks relatively slim on Wednesday, with the release of US home sales figures followed by the Conference Board's consumer confidence index.

Prior to this, investors will be taking note of UK inflation figures, which should show that prices are showing some signs of moderation, albeit remaining at high levels.

On the bond front, the yield on 10-year Treasuries eased to 3.92%, still hopeful of further rate cuts on the other side of the Atlantic.

Interest-rate futures now incorporate a 69% probability of a rate cut following the Fed's meeting at the end of March, compared with 28% a month ago, according to CME Group's FedWatch barometer.

The yield on the ten-year Bund, the eurozone's benchmark rate, followed suit, falling to 2.01%, its lowest level since the beginning of the year.

On the currency markets, the dollar halted its slide despite the drop in T-Bond yields, recovering 0.3% against the euro, which returned to 1.0955 against the greenback.

On the commodities front, oil prices confirmed their recovery due to the growing number of attacks by Yemeni Houthi rebels, close to Iran, against ships in the Red Sea, which are disrupting maritime trade.

Brent crude is currently up nearly 0.1% at around $79.3 a barrel, while US light crude (WTI) is also up 0.1% above $74.

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