The Paris Bourse is holding firm as the December trading term gets underway: the CAC continues to rise in this "3 Witches" session, which concludes one of the best November trading months in the last 20 years.
The CAC remains up 0.9% at 7,233 points, and has so far gained 2.7% over the week (in a sustained volume of 3.5 billion euros), and more than 6% since October 20.
The euro-Stoxx50 is not to be outdone, with +0.9% at 4,340 points and +3.3% over the week.

On Wall Street, the US equity markets are currently directionless (S&P500 up 0.1%, Doiw Jones stable), but are also heading for an almost 100% positive week, with the Dow Jones and Nasdaq both up around 2% for the week and aiming for their 14th out of 16 up sessions (a ratio of 7 rises for a single session of symbolic decline).

While investors are now clearly betting on the end of the monetary tightening cycle by the major central banks, the slowdown in inflationary pressures has not entirely reassured them.

"It's clear that the central banks' battle against inflation is far from over," says Thomas Hempell, economist at Generali Investments.

Yields will probably remain at their current levels in a prolonged pause - with the first rate cuts unlikely before the second half of 2024', he stresses.
US T-Bonds are marginally down; the '10-yr' is back to 4.462%, but has erased almost 20 basis points over the week.

There was little movement in Europe, where Bunds posted -0.5pts (2.5830%); Italian OATs and BTPs were totally frozen at 3.418% and 4.348% respectively (the week ended with an average easing of -15pts).

Economic data released this week were mixed, but traders focused on the moderation in inflation.

The Commerce Department reported a 1.9% rise in US housing starts in October, to an annualized rate of 1,372,000, a level rather above economists' expectations.

Similarly, U.S. housing permits - thought to foreshadow future starts - rose by 1.1% to an annualized rate of 1,487,000 last month, also exceeding consensus.

The oil market is attempting to halt its correction due to the increasingly serious prospect of a slowdown in the global economy, but is also heading for heavy losses for the week.

Brent crude is down 1% at $78.25 a barrel, while US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) is back at $73.5.

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