Futures contracts on indices point to a flat start for the CAC, Germany's DAX in Frankfurt, and London's FTSE 100.

Between the sharp drop in precious metals and concerns over the potentially devastating effects of AI on the software sector, global equity markets have weathered a significant bout of turbulence in recent days. Nevertheless, the CAC 40 has managed to stand out.

Since last Thursday, the Paris index has climbed 2.4%, far outperforming the S&P 500, which lost 1.4% over the same period. The pan-European STOXX 600 index also outperformed its New York counterpart, posting a 1.8% gain over five sessions.

Due to the unpredictability that has characterized the Trump administration's policies in early 2026, the "Sell America" theme is resurfacing, prompting investors to exit U.S. equities—echoing the trend that buoyed European stock markets in the first months of 2025.

In this somewhat chaotic context, all eyes will turn today to Frankfurt, where the ECB will announce its monetary policy decision at 14:15, followed by the traditional press conference with President Christine Lagarde at 14:30.

With markets having largely anticipated a "status quo" for the fifth consecutive time, the institution's announcements are not expected to cause much stir.

Nevertheless, investors will closely monitor Christine Lagarde's comments for any hints about a possible rate cut this year—a scenario seen as increasingly credible in order to counter the strength of the euro, which recently tested nearly five-year highs against the dollar, approaching 1.20.

"According to the ECB's sensitivity analysis, this rise could shave a tenth of a point off both growth and inflation," Oddo BHF analysts reminded earlier this week.

"If the euro were to climb to 1.25 over the year, that would mean a 0.2-point hit to both growth and inflation," the private bank specified.

The Bank of England, which is also meeting today, is likewise expected to keep rates unchanged after last December's easing, as the recent inflation spike in the UK has delayed the next rate cut until spring.

On Wall Street, the three major indices ended mixed on Wednesday, in a market particularly anxious about software publishers' prospects amid the rise of AI, as reflected by the 18% drop in the IVG sector index since the start of the year.

At the close, the Dow Jones was up 0.5%, but the S&P 500 lost 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.5%.

With this latest decline, the tech-heavy index has erased its gains for the year and is now down 1.5% since January 1.

Semiconductor stocks fell sharply after AMD announced it would ramp up AI investments this year (the stock closed down 17%), dragging down the entire tech sector (-1.9%).

"If I had to sum up the mood that dominated markets yesterday, it would be 'sell software publishers' and 'buy the real economy,'" summarized Michael Brown, strategist at Pepperstone, this morning.

"We're looking at a market that seems to be wobbling on the surface, but in my view is much more resilient underneath," the analyst added.

"For example, 72% of S&P stocks closed higher yesterday, despite alarming headlines, and cyclical segments once again outperformed during the session," Michael Brown noted.

Alphabet managed to reassure buyers last night by posting quarterly results above expectations, but the massive scale of its planned investments this year (between $175 billion and $185 billion) weighed on the stock, which was down about 1.6% in pre-market trading.

Following New York's lead, Asian indices ended the session lower. In Tokyo, the Nikkei dropped 0.9%, while in China the CSI 300, which tracks major mainland blue chips, fell 0.6%.

The decline in equity markets has favored neither the yen, which is down 0.2% against the dollar this morning, nor the bond market.

The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note is hovering around 4.2750%, after topping the 4.30% threshold two weeks ago—a high since last September.

A bearish underlying trend continues to prevail in Europe, where the Bund is down 0.2 basis points to nearly 2.85%, while OATs are up 1.6 points to around 3.45%.

On the cryptocurrency front, Bitcoin—which broke through the crucial $74,000 support level yesterday—continues its slide, dropping below $72,000 to $71,283 (-6.6%), its lowest level since early November 2024 and the election of Donald Trump.

Experts point to a sharp withdrawal of liquidity due to massive unwinding of derivative positions, fragile spot ETF flows, and forced or anticipated selling by highly leveraged players such as companies that accumulated bitcoin on credit.

In Europe, today's session promises to be one of the busiest of the earnings season, with reports from BNP Paribas, BBVA, Shell, and UniCredit.

In the United States, the session will also be highly eventful, with Amazon's results expected after the close.