The Paris Bourse is holding steady in the green ahead of a week likely to be marked by the ECB meeting, the publication of several key economic indicators and the kick-off of the US corporate earnings season. The CAC40 index is trading around 8120 points, up by around 0.7%.

After a strong start to the year and new all-time highs, the Paris market has lost momentum since the end of March, in the absence of any impetus to sustain the upward movement.

A number of catalysts are on the horizon this week, but the prospect of these important meetings could prompt investors to be cautious at first.

In the Eurozone, the meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB) - scheduled for Thursday - will represent the week's main event, with the hope that it will confirm the scenario of a first rate cut in June.

The market is hoping for answers, but some analysts point out that evidence of a decline in inflation may not be available until late summer, which could push the ECB to wait until the third quarter before acting on its rates.

However, it is the US inflation figures, due on Wednesday, that will be the highlight of the week's stock market action, with much uncertainty still hanging over the trajectory of prices across the Atlantic.

'We are (...) still a long way from a scenario confirming that the battle against high inflation has been completely won, hence the rise in yields on the bond market, which is weighing a little on the momentum of equities, and also questions about the possibility of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve in June," points out Christopher Dembik, Investment Strategy Advisor at Pictet AM.

For many observers, long rates are likely to continue hovering around their current highs, limiting the upside potential of equity markets until the first rate cuts are announced.

In terms of European indicators, German industrial production figures were published this morning. Following a 1.3% rise in January, German industrial output in volume terms rose by 2.1% in February 2024 compared with the previous month, according to seasonally and calendar adjusted data from Destatis.

Investors' attention will also turn, from the weekend onwards, to the quarterly accounts of US companies.

The real kick-off to this earnings season will be given on Friday by banking groups JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citi.

According to FactSet data, first-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are expected to rise by 3.2% year-on-year, which would be their third consecutive quarter of growth.

On the value side, Barclays reaffirmed its 'overweight' recommendation on L'Oréal, but with an adjusted price target of 467 to 462 euros, pointing to a slowdown in mass-market make-up products in the US since last August.

HSBC announced on Monday that it had raised its price target for Nexans from 97 to 105 euros, while maintaining its Buy rating on the stock, after speaking with the cable manufacturer's CFO.

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