The Paris stock market was down 0.7% this morning, at around 7050 points, penalized in particular by Renault's decline, which gave up almost 3% as the Losange company entered into discussions with Nissan.

Caution also prevails, as the week will be dominated by multiple earnings releases: more than 100 S&P 500 components, including six Dow Jones companies, are due to publish their fourth-quarter accounts.

So far, the earnings season has proved rather disappointing, with 69% of the 29% of S&P 500 companies that have published their results exceeding Wall Street expectations.

In addition to this flurry of results, the week will be marked by the Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy Committee meeting, which kicks off tomorrow.

The gradual slowdown in inflation and the resilience of the US economy have recently reduced the chances of the Fed continuing on the path of restrictive monetary tightening.

Having already reduced the pace of its rate hikes in December, to 50 basis points instead of 75, the Fed is expected to raise rates by just 25 basis points on Wednesday.

Beyond the Fed meeting, the other highlight of the week will be the European Central Bank's (ECB) monetary policy decision on Thursday.

While a 50 basis point rate hike is widely anticipated at the end of the ECB's Governing Council, investors will be closely scrutinizing the comments made by its President, Christine Lagarde.

"All attention will be focused on the announcements to follow: what pace in March? what terminal level for the deposit rate and what timeframe?" comments Julien Russo, portfolio manager at Swiss Life Asset Managers France.

In company news, Renault Group announces that it has made progress in its discussions with Nissan Motor on defining the new foundations of their partnership: agreements are being finalized for a transaction that will remain subject to the approval of the Boards of Directors.

They are considering 'high value creation' operational projects, and new initiatives to reinforce their strategic agility, including a possible investment by Nissan in Ampere, an electric and software pure player founded by Renault.

Sanofi announces that Brussels has extended the marketing authorization (MA) of its Dupixent in the EU, making it the first and only targeted drug specifically indicated for the treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis in Europe and the USA.

Orpea announces the resumption of discussions with a group of third-party French investors led by the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, and a group of financial creditors holding around 50% of its €3.8 billion unsecured debt.

On Monday, Saint-Gobain announced the completion of the acquisition of Termica San Luis, an Argentine stone wool specialist, an operation designed to strengthen its presence in the country.

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