The Paris stock market continued to fall (-0.2 to -0.25%), around 7575pts, penalized in particular by Alstom, which gave up 3.7%, Stellantis -2.2% and Sté Générale -1.8%.
The index is proving particularly resilient, given the -0.7% decline in the S&P500 and the -1% fall in the Dow Jones.
The Euro-Stoxx50 is also in the red (-0.25%), despite Unicredit's 10% rise.
The OECD revises down its 2024 growth forecasts for the Euroe zone to 0.6% in 2024, compared with +0.8% and +1.3% in 2025.

But investors this morning took note of a slight upturn in the HCOB composite PMI index for the euro zone, which rose from 47.6 in December to 47.9 in January, reaching a six-month high and indicating the weakest contraction in private sector activity in the region since last July.

The DAX is also down -0.2%, but is holding up well in view of a drop in the 'services' PMI, falling exports and 0.3% growth at the end of 2024 (after a recessionary 1st half, i.e. 4 negative quarters).

In addition, bond markets continued to deteriorate after Friday's very poor session: Bunds tightened by +10pts to 2.3380%, Italian BTPs by 9pts to 3.900% and our OATs by +11pts to 2.8330%,

In France, the HCOB PMI composite index of global activity remained unchanged below the 50 mark for the eighth consecutive month in January. It fell from 44.8 in December to 44.6 in January, signalling a slight acceleration in the decline in activity. The services sub-index fell from 45.7 in December to 45.4 for the month.

Across the Atlantic, T-Bonds tightened by +14.5pts to 4.176%, while the 'composite' PMI rallied to a 6-month high of 52, despite the decline in the manufacturing PMI.

The monthly survey by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) published on Monday was up for the 43rd month out of 44 (the last episode of contraction dates back to December 2022) in the wake of the US services sector, which accelerated more strongly than expected, by +3Pts to 53.4 in January.
While the activity sub-index remained stable at 58, the sub-index measuring new contracts rose to 55, after 52.8 the previous month, while employment returned to the growth zone, at 50.5 versus 43.8 in December.

Wall Street also had to digest an interview with Jerome Powell broadcast yesterday on the weekly program '60 Minutes': he reiterated his statements of last Wednesday, according to which a rate cut in March was not the institution's central scenario.

The Fed boss also endorsed the 'dot plot' provided at the end of last December's meeting, in favor of three rate cuts this year", commented Danske Bank.

By way of comparison, financial markets are currently forecasting five rate cuts in 2024', the Danish bank points out.

'Powell highlighted the robustness of the economy, the strength of the job market and added that the diagnosis he made in Jackson Hole in August 2022, namely that rate hikes would penalize economic activity, had not materialized so far', the Scandinavian bank stresses.
It also added that the current debt trajectory was 'unsustainable'.
This is not stopping the Dollar from continuing its bullish rally against the Euro, which is down -0.6% towards $1.0725.

With the meetings with the major central banks now behind us, earnings season should monopolize investors' attention this week in the absence of any major economic statistics.

Results from Caterpillar and McDonald's were released at lunchtime, ahead of those from Eli Lilly, Spotify, Ford, Uber and Disney, due in the coming days.

Several European heavyweights such as BP, TotalEnergies, Equinor, Carlsberg, L'Oréal, AstraZeneca, Siemens, Unilever, Kering, ArcelorMittal and Hermès will also be unveiling their accounts in the coming days.

Brent crude oil fell by -0.5% and gold ounces by -0.3% to $2,023/Oz.

In other French company news, Thales announced that the UK Ministry of Defence had signed a £1.8 billion, 15-year contract to improve the availability and resilience of Royal Navy ships.

Casino announces that on February 2, the European Commission issued a decision authorizing the takeover of the retail group by the EP Equity Investment III-Fimalac-Attestor consortium, under foreign subsidy regulations.

Finally, in order to make its services energy self-sufficient in France, Veolia says it is accelerating its deployment of local decarbonized energies with the solarization of its post-operating waste storage sites in the country.

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