The Paris stock market has stagnated for the 13th session within a 7,530/7,600pt corridor, i.e. 1% volatility over a 3-week period (including 2 public holidays on December 25 and 26)

Such stability on the Paris market may seem supernatural, but it illustrates the power of "algorithmic piloting", in a context of evaporating volumes... where few means are sufficient to steer or freeze trading towards the desired level.

NB: CAC40 with +0.45% returns to positive territory for 0.01% over the 3 sessions of this shortened week, the monthly gain slightly exceeds +4%, the annual gain +16.8% (but +20% for the CAC 40 'Global Return' whose annual performance is comparable to that of the Euro STOXX 50 index or the German DAX with +19%).
The CAC40 continues to be driven by the luxury goods sector (+0.9% for Hermès, LVMH and Kering)... but over 2023, the automotive and comm sectors have outperformed.

Over 2023 as a whole, the index's best performers are Stellantis (+59%), Saint-Gobain (+45%) and Publicis (+41%), while Alstom (-47%) and Teleperformance (-40%) are the index's red lanterns.
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On Wall Street, with a stable opening expected, the S&P500 is on course for a 9th week of gains, and perhaps a 15th session out of 16 (again, a supernatural ratio).
In 2 months, the S&P has seen only one session down to -1.5% on December 20 (and no other above -0.8%).... followed by 5 consecutive positive sessions, 4 of which were intraday annual records.

In a note published last night, Dan Ives, the star analyst at Wedbush Securities, said he expected a further rise of around 25% in the major US technology stocks next year (the 'Fantastic 7' + a few semiconductors), which would be an undeniable driving force for global equity markets.
It's worth noting that these 'Fantastic 7' have gained +103% this year (on an equally-weighted basis) and accounted for 90% of the S&P500's performance, a concentration unseen for 1 century, and John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil before 1911.

On the bond front, the year ended with a clear consolidation on our OATs, with +8Pts at 2.55%, +8.5Pts on Bunds at 2.025% and +3.8Pts on US T-Bonds at 3.89%.

On the currency markets, the dollar regained some color, but its surge remains modest, and the break of multiple supports this week has not been invalidated.

The euro is currently stable against the greenback, (-0.05%) at around $1.1055/euro, and is holding above the former 1.1030 resistance level.
Oil halts its slide, with Brent and WTI recovering +0.9% to $77.8 and $72.3 respectively.

In French company news, Voltalia has announced the sale of 100% of its operating wind farms at Sarry (23.1 megawatts) and Molinons (10 megawatts). With a total capacity of 33.1 megawatts, they are located in the Burgundy-Franche-Comté region.

Clariane announces the finalization of its second real estate partnership with Crédit Agricole Assurances, for a total amount of 90 million euros, covering 11 assets in the UK with a gross value of around 227 million euros, excluding rights.

Lastly, Carmat announced last night a software enhancement that "significantly" improves the safety profile of its Aeson artificial heart.

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