The Paris stock market opened the week with a modest gain of 0.18%, to 7246 points, driven in particular by Stellantis (+2.3%), TotalEnergies (+1.9%) and Publicis (+1.6%).

It should be remembered that the performances of recent weeks have enabled the Parisian index to gain some 4% in one month, and to record a gain of close to 12% since the start of the year.

However, "we consider the current bullish configuration to be fragile", say the analysts at Kiplink Finance, pointing to the "feverishness" of the CAC.

"In the short term, the Parisian index is facing a challenging zone, that of stabilizing itself durably at 7,200 points in order to continue its positive sequence", believes the brokerage firm.

The Thanksgiving holiday, which will see US markets close on Thursday and only open for a shortened session on Friday, also seems unlikely to encourage risk-taking.

Investors should avoid taking new positions, volumes are expected to be low and few elements seem likely to make markets react.

The week will also see a number of indicators, including Thursday's Eurozone PMI figures, which should confirm the contraction in activity on the Old Continent.

In the United States, the index of leading indicators, which is supposed to foreshadow the evolution of economic activity in the United States, continued to fall in October, as announced by the Conference Board on Monday.

The ConfBoard expects high inflation, rising interest rates and a contraction in consumer spending to plunge the US economy into a "short" recession.
According to the trade organization, US GDP is likely to grow by just 0.8% in 2024.

It remains to be seen whether the recent uptrend has paved the way for the famous year-end "rally", or whether the stock markets are, on the contrary, ripe for another episode of consolidation.

Some analysts believe that it is far from certain that the markets will enjoy a very positive end to the year, with current valuations making them vulnerable to bad news.

"Valuations are probably the most stretched we've seen this year, with yields this high", warn the strategists at Lombard Odier Investment Managers.

On the bond front, the yield on ten-year Treasuries edged up by +2.5pts to above 4.468% (despite the decline in the Conf'Board indicator), but lost almost 50 basis points over one month, while the probability of another Fed rate hike by the end of the year is now assessed at zero.

Spreads in Europe are insignificant, with +1.5 basis points on our OATs and Bunds, at 3.17% and 2.61% respectively.

Against this backdrop, the euro continues to climb against the dollar (+0.3%), to around 1.093, setting a new high since the end of August.

In the energy sector, oil prices are attempting to recover after four consecutive weeks of decline, with Brent gaining 2.6% around $82.7 a barrel.

In French corporate news, Bouygues announced on Monday that it had obtained AMF approval for its public buyout offer followed by a squeeze-out for Colas, an operation it had initially formalized in September.

Accenture has been chosen by the Accor group to support its content production capacity and establish consistency in local and global marketing communications for its hotel brands.

Vinci reports that Lima Expresa (VINCI Highways/VINCI Concessions), concessionaire of the Lima expressways (capital of Peru), has deployed the country's first AI-integrated automatic road accident detection system.

Finally, Soitec is down more than 3% in Paris, as Stifel this morning maintained its 'buy' rating on the stock, with a price target lowered from €200 to €190, due to a downgraded outlook for the semiconductor specialist.

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