The Palais Brongniart, former Paris Stock Exchange
The main European stock markets are in slight decline on Tuesday morning for the last session of the year, penalized by the low trading volumes linked to the festivities which amplify the trend in one direction or another.
In Paris, the CAC 40 lost 0.05% to 7,310.04 points around 08:15 GMT, after a decline of 0.57% on Monday. In London, the FTSE 100 lost 0.18%. The EuroStoxx 50 index declined by 0.03%, the FTSEurofirst 300 by 0.04%, while the Stoxx 600 lost 0.03%.
The stock exchanges in Frankfurt, Zurich and Milan are closed this Tuesday, while the financial centers of Euronext, London and Wall Street will also be closed on Wednesday for the New Year.
Futures contracts on Wall Street forecast a drop of 0.03% for the Dow Jones, 0.06% for the Standard & Poor's 500 and 0.09% for the Nasdaq the day after a session in the red linked to the rise in bond yields.
The slight tension on rates is linked to the prospect of a slowdown in the pace of monetary easing by the American Federal Reserve (Fed) and to speculation on the policies of Donald Trump, who will take office on January 20. Equity markets in the United States have also recorded significant gains since Donald Trump's victory, while in Europe performances have been variable.
The CAC 40 is at this stage heading towards a loss of around 3% over the whole year, particularly in a context of political instability. The Stoxx 600 is up 5.40% over the whole of 2024.
The absence of major macroeconomic indicators in Europe and the United States for today's session also does not encourage risk-taking while many operators are now on vacation for New Year's Eve.
In China, manufacturing activity increased for a third consecutive month, while the services sector accelerated in December, signs that the recovery measures implemented by Beijing are starting to bear fruit.
This statistic supports the oil sector with notably increases for BP and TotalEnergies.
On the downside, the technology sector in Europe follows in the footsteps of the Nasdaq which fell by more than 1% on Monday.
(Writing by Claude Chendjou, edited by Kate Entringer)
