The Paris stock market ended the first session of the week down a moderate 0.37%, at 7,568 points, penalized in particular by declines in Bouygues (-3%), STMicro (-2.8%) and Kering (-2.5%). Other luxury goods stocks such as LVMH and Hermès were also down, with declines of -0.9% and -1.3% respectively.

The market is taking a breather after the 7-week straight-line rebound since the end of October.

"After setting a new record close at 7,596.9 points, logic would suggest that the CAC 40 should experiment with profit-taking this week", said Christopher Dembik, investment strategy advisor at Pictet AM, this morning.

The context is propitious: there are no meetings of the major central banks, few statistics apart from inflation figures in the eurozone and the UK, and lower volumes due to the approach of the holiday season", added the analyst.

While the week could provide investors with an opportunity to make their final portfolio adjustments before the end of the financial year, they should also be keen to preserve the exceptional gains made in recent weeks, and over the course of 2023 in general.

Since January 1, the CAC 40 has posted a gain of around 17%, its fourth best annual performance in ten years...

On the economic front, there was disappointment this morning with the IFO index: against all expectations, German business sentiment fell from 87.2 to 86.4 in December, while the consensus was for an increase to 87.8.

On the bond front, 10-year T-Bonds are trading at around 3.95%, while the German Bund, the benchmark for the eurozone, is trading at around 2.07%.

On the statistics front, the week looks calm. The main data due on Thursday are US household income and spending figures (including the PCE inflation index, which is closely watched by the Fed).

Brent crude oil is up 2.1% at around $78.5 a barrel, and the euro is up 0.2% against the greenback at around $1.091/euro.

In news from French companies, Renault Group announces the completion of the transaction announced on June 26, consisting in the investment of 200 million euros in Alpine Racing Ltd by Otro Capital, in the form of a 24% stake.

Eiffage announces that it has won, in a consortium with eight architectural firms, the contract awarded by Société du Grand Paris for the design and construction of a section of line 15 East of the Grand Paris Express. The total value of the section between the Bobigny-Pablo Picasso and Champigny Centre stations is 2.54 billion euros.

Airbus reports that Qantas has taken delivery of its first new-generation A220, making the Australian airline the 20th operator to receive the new aircraft. It will leave the Mirabel assembly line in the next few days for Sydney.

Groupe Casino, Groupement Les Mousquetaires and Auchan Retail announced today that they have entered into exclusive negotiations with a view to the sale by Groupe Casino of almost all of Groupe Casino's hypermarkets and supermarkets to Groupement Les Mousquetaires and Auchan Retail.

Finally, the European Commission has approved the acquisition of sole control of Belgium-based Banque Degroof Petercam by CA Indosuez, controlled by the Crédit Agricole group.

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