The cautious, even downbeat, opening on Wall Street (with the Dow Jones and S&P500 flat) failed to dampen optimism across European markets. The Euro Stoxx 50 climbed 0.5%, while the CAC40 extended its advance to 0.6% just over fifteen minutes before the close.
On Wall Street, indexes struggled to reverse course, remaining either flat or slightly in the red, with the Nasdaq down 0.3%.
In Paris, the market was driven primarily by the automotive sector, with Renault up 6%, Stellantis gaining 4.3%, and Schneider Electric rising 3.8%.
Yesterday, confirmation of a slowdown in the U.S. labor market (ADP reported a loss of 32,000 jobs in November) and a robust ISM services index--offset by a weak PMI, which indicated better inflation control in the services sector--supported expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut.
On Thursday, a surprise development saw weekly jobless claims in the U.S. fall to 191,000 (down 29,000), marking the lowest level in over three years, whereas consensus had expected a slight increase. With jobless claims below 200,000, the U.S. is experiencing ultra-full employment, which could lead to wage pressures if the trend continues.
Attention now turns to tomorrow's release of the PCE price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, which will be crucial less than a week before the central bank's monetary policy decisions.
Another surprise came from private data by Challenger, showing that layoffs in the U.S. halved month-over-month.
In the eurozone, October's seasonally adjusted retail sales, expected at 11 a.m., were unchanged after a 0.1% increase the previous month, according to Eurostat. Year-on-year, the index rose 1.5% compared to the expected 1.4%, more than twice as low as the rate seen in the United States.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei index surged more than 2.3% late Thursday following a successful government bond auction, which reassured investors after volatility hit the Japanese bond market earlier in the week amid rate uncertainty. However, yields continued to climb, with the 10-year rate hitting a record 1.941%, up 4.5 basis points.
In the U.S., Treasury bonds also saw yields rise, with the 2035 maturity up 4 basis points to 4.10%, and the two-year note adding 3.6 basis points to 3.523%.
In the European bond market, the French 10-year OAT yield rose 2.6 basis points to 3.516%, while the equivalent German Bund climbed 2.5 basis points to 2.7700%, widening the spread to 73 basis points.
Oil prices advanced for a second consecutive session as investors focused on an unsuccessful meeting in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, while Kyiv claimed responsibility for destroying a section of a Russian pipeline that had already been targeted several weeks earlier.
Brent crude held steady at $62.7 per barrel, while U.S. light crude (WTI) edged up 0.1% to nearly $59 per barrel. The euro remained flat at $1.1670.
In French corporate news, Pierre & Vacances-Center Parcs reported a positive net result of EUR40.6 million for its 2025 fiscal year, up from EUR28.7 million previously, and adjusted EBITDA rose from EUR174 million to EUR181 million, "confirming the structural improvement in profitability."
BIC announced it will discontinue Rocketbook and its tattoo-related activities grouped under Skin Creative (Inkbox and Tattly) by the first quarter of 2026, following a thorough review.
Finally, Havas announced Thursday the acquisition of the UK agency Bearded Kitten, a move aimed at strengthening its presence in the experiential marketing sector, a market estimated at around $128 billion globally.
