After a rather gloomy session, the Paris Bourse was buoyed by a bullish breeze at the end of the day, ending the session with a gain of 0.88%, at 7060 points, despite low volumes (less than 2.8 billion euros traded since the opening).

The Paris index nonetheless gave up 1.2% over the past week, but maintained a gain of almost 9% since the start of the year.

Today's session was largely dominated by the release of the official US employment report for September.

The US economy generated 336,000 nonfarm jobs in September, according to the Labor Department, a number well above market expectations (Jefferies was expecting only 150,000).

'The report could strongly affect monetary policy expectations', said Duc Nam Pho at Kama Capital this morning, pointing out that 'the labor market remains resilient and is being closely monitored by the Federal Reserve'.

Weaker-than-expected labor market data could support stock market performance and a pullback in yields, as traders may incorporate a softer stance from the Federal Reserve', he continued.

Earlier in the morning, traders also took note of the French trade balance and German industrial orders for August.

In August 2023, France's trade balance deteriorated slightly according to CVS-CJO data from the customs administration, with the deficit increasing to 8.2 billion euros after 8.1 billion in July.

After plunging by 11.3% in July (revised from a provisional estimate of -11.7%), German industrial orders rebounded by 3.9% in August compared with the previous month, according to seasonally and calendar-adjusted data.

On the stock front, after losing over 37% yesterday, Alstom was again in negative territory, shedding up to 6% before making up for it late in the session to close with a limited loss of 0.8%.

Renault and Volvo to create a company dedicated to the development of a brand-new generation of electric vans. CMA CGM will also join the new company.

This new all-electric Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) range will be launched by the new company. Production is scheduled to start in 2026.

Crédit Agricole, having received all the necessary authorizations from the supervisory authorities, announces the launch of a program to buy back up to 26,835,641 shares between now and January 26, with a view to their cancellation.

Valeo announces the completion of its inaugural €600 million green bond issue, to which the European Investment Bank (EIB) has subscribed for €150 million.

According to Bloomberg, Sanofi is considering the acquisition of Mirati Therapeutics. This company specializes in the development of anti-cancer products. The company is developing several products in clinical trials, including two Ph III studies and five Ph II studies, as monotherapy or in combination in various cancer indications", according to Invest Securities.

AXA's share price has risen by almost 2.4%, clearly outperforming the CAC40, supported by a positive statement from Oddo BHF, which lists the French company's stock as one of its favorites among European large-cap insurance companies.

Lastly, Alstom has announced an acceleration of its pre-validation test campaign for the future INOUI TGV (5th generation TGV M), with the first runs this month of a second train on the French national rail network.

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