The week is off to a flying start in Paris, with the CAC40 returning to its all-time highs (+1% to 7,400) and attempting to lift the 7,400 resistance level around 3:50pm (to 7,403).
All trading since the opening has been within a 30-pt range (0.4% volatility)... but the opening showed a nice bullish gap above 7,345pts (last Thursday's high).

But volumes remain anemic (1.6 bn euros traded in 7.5 hours, i.e. 230 million per hour), which means that there is no opposition from buyers who are paying with their fingertips.

And the same locomotives are still pulling the CAC40, notably LVMH (+2%), which is outperforming thanks to the favorable comments of Jefferies, which reiterated its 'buy' recommendation with a price target raised from 740 to 960E on the French luxury giant's stock.... which sets a new all-time record at 847E for a European market capitalization of 425BnE.

According to Jefferies, LVMH is 'poised to deliver double-digit growth and maintain overall post-pandemic profitability levels, growing market share and strong cash flow generation to support superior momentum'.
The Euro-Stoxx50, which benefited only partially from the LVMH effect (+2.3% to 846E, a new all-time high), posted a gain of no more than 0.6% to 4,334.

But optimism prevailed, as investors welcomed solid US employment figures confirming the good health of the world's leading economy.
Above all, Wall Street reopened on Monday without excess, either up or down.... and this Tuesday, the US indices have been virtually stable since the opening ('S&P' unchanged, Dow Jones +0.2%): the 'NFP' was not 'strong' enough (236,000 new jobs) to arouse fears of further rate hikes, but not weak enough to raise serious doubts about growth (unemployment down from -0.1% to 3.5%).
According to the CME's FedWatch barometer, investors now estimate the probability of a 25 basis point rate hike at the end of the Fed's next meeting, scheduled for May 3, at 80%, compared with 55% a week ago and 25% 15 days previously.

But fewer than 5% of investors expect another rate hike in June, confirming that the Fed's monetary tightening cycle is now coming to an end.
T-Bonds are yielding an almost unchanged 3.43% (+1.5Pt on Tuesday)... after climbing +11.5Pts on Monday (a peak in almost a week).
European Treasuries are adjusting and our OATs are up +11pts to 2.81%, Bunds +11.5pts to 2.2960%, BTPs +12.5pts to 4.1500%.

The FOREX is ultra-calm with the Dollar unchanged at 1.0920E, Gold down -0.4% on the symbolic $2.000 mark.

In order to gain a better understanding of economic trends, investors' attention will be focused this week on a whole raft of statistics, including the eagerly awaited inflation figures due out tomorrow in the USA.

Investors will also be paying close attention to Friday's earnings releases from US banks JPMorgan Chase, Citi and Wells Fargo, which will kick off the first-quarter results season in the USA.

In French company news, Airbus Helicopters says it has signed a contract with GDAT, one of China's leading helicopter lessors and operators, for 50 H160 helicopters, the largest single H160 order in the civil and parapublic market since its unveiling in 2015.

In addition, Airbus announced on Tuesday that it had delivered 61 aircraft to 37 customers during the month of March, bringing its year-to-date total of deliveries to 54 customers to 127.

Accor announced that it had signed a binding memorandum of understanding with Shanghai Jin Jiang International Hotels until 2033, aimed at promoting and achieving sustainable transformations in the hotel industry and the reduction of the sector's carbon emissions.

Alstom says it has won an operations and maintenance contract from the Maryland Transportation Administration (MTA) in the USA, with 'new digital innovations to develop sustainable and intelligent mobility'.


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