The Paris stock market lost nearly 0.2% this morning, around 7590 points, penalized by the downturn in the automotive sector, with -3.1% for Stellantis and -2.1% for Renault, despite the surge in Kering's share price, which gained over 5%.

Caution prevails ahead of a weekend that promises to be rich in economic and political events.

Tomorrow's release of the PCE price index - the Fed's preferred measure of inflation - is the week's main event, and could provide some visibility on the evolution of monetary policy in the United States.

On the political front, Joe Biden and Donald Trump will be sharpening their weapons ahead of their first televised debate, scheduled for tonight on CNN, in the run-up to November's presidential election.

With less than five months to go to the polls, polls are predicting a particularly close election (46% of voting intentions for Trump, 45% for Biden), hence the importance of this confrontation.

In France, too, candidates will be throwing their last energies into the campaign to mark the first round of early parliamentary elections, to be held on Sunday.

Beyond the upcoming composition of the National Assembly, investors remain primarily concerned by the budgetary issues of the opposing forces, which threaten to derail public accounts.

Thursday's session will also be busy on the indicators front, with US durable goods orders, jobless claims and the third estimate of first-quarter GDP due out in the early afternoon.

On the bond market, the 10-year yield on US government bonds, which had been little changed since the start of the week, is moving towards 4.33% (+2pts) on the eve of the inflation figures.

Its German equivalent is moving at around 2.46%, compared with 3.25% for the OAT.
Brent crude is up 0.5% at $85.6 a barrel.

In French company news, Sanofi reports the publication in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) of the results of a positive Phase III trial of Dupixent (dupilumab) in the treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis in children aged 12 months to 11 years.

Saint-Gobain announces that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Fosroc, a leading unlisted global player in construction chemicals, for $1.025 billion (around €960 million) in cash.

Finally, Technip Energies and Shell Catalysts & Technologies announce a technology transfer agreement to accelerate the commercialization of Technip Energies' Bio-2-Glycols technology for the production of Mono Ethylene Glycol (MEG) from glucose.

Copyright (c) 2024 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.