The Paris Bourse opened moderately higher on Thursday after the publication of the eurozone PMI indices, the only event of the day, which was otherwise quiet due to the close of Wall Street. The CAC40 index climbed 0.2% to 7,275pts, continuing the trend of the past few days.

Traders are likely to be reluctant to take the initiative as US markets remain closed throughout the day in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.

The stock market could also be affected by fears of instability in the eurozone in the wake of the victory of Geert Wilder's populist, anti-EU PVV party in yesterday's parliamentary elections in the Netherlands.

The publication of the first results of the monthly purchasing managers' surveys (PMI) on private sector activity in the eurozone economies is the main highlight of the session.

Private-sector activity in France contracted further in November, penalized by persistent weakness in demand, according to the preliminary version of the PMI index published this Thursday.

The composite 'flash' PMI index measuring overall activity compiled by HCOB thus fell to 44.5 in November, from 44.6 in October, returning to negative territory for the sixth month in a row.

The preliminary composite PMI index measuring overall activity in the eurozone, published by HCOB, recovered to 47.1 from 46.5 in October.

But Hamburg Commercial Bank points out that these data still point to a second consecutive quarter of contraction in eurozone GDP, synonymous with a technical recession in the region.

A PMI falling just below 50 points does not necessarily mean a relapse into recession, but it is a worrying signal," cautioned analysts at Oddo BHF.

Last year, after the surge in energy prices, the eurozone's composite PMI had fallen to 47.3, raising fears of a contraction in
activity", they point out.

"Six months later, the index had rebounded to 54.1 and real GDP was content to stagnate", add the private bank's economists.

In the absence of Wall Street, good news could help European equities make up for their underperformance against US markets since the start of the year, with a discount that now stands at a record 35%.

"The valuation of cyclical companies in Europe today incorporates a severe recession scenario", argue Oddo BHF's teams.

The day will also be marked by the release of the minutes of the ECB's last meeting, which ended in a 'standstill' last month after ten rate hikes in a row.

On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei index was up 0.3% by the end of trading on Thursday, bringing its month-on-month increase to almost 8%, helped by Wall Street's strong performance on Wednesday.

The New York Stock Exchange finished in the green yesterday, buoyed by the technology sector in a market that had to digest the solid results published by Nvidia.

On the currency markets, the dollar is regaining some ground after falling sharply in recent weeks in response to the Fed's more cautious approach.

The euro is still nibbling away at 0.2% against the greenback, at $1.0910, but is still down for the week as a whole.

On the bond market, the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries is hovering around 4.41% in anticipation of the long Thanksgiving holiday. This rate had exceeded 5% last month.

The yield on the German Bund with the same maturity, which has fallen by 21 points over the past month, stands at 2.56%.

On the oil market, crude prices continue to show signs of heaviness following the announcement of a new rise in US reserves last week, but above all due to the postponement of the Opep+ meeting, which was scheduled for this weekend in Vienna.

Brent crude fell by 1.2% to $81, while US light crude (WTI) lost just over 1% to $76.3.

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