Index futures currently suggest a decline of 0.9% for the CAC 40 in Paris, 0.8% for the DAX in Frankfurt, and 0.9% for the Euro STOXX 50.

After an intense week marked by mixed earnings results, the official appointment of Kevin Warsh as Chair of the Federal Reserve, and the rollercoaster ride in metal markets, the Paris index managed to edge up by 0.7% to 8,126.53 points on Friday. However, this gain was not enough to prevent a third consecutive weekly decline, with weekly losses of 0.2%.

Following last week's packed agenda, crucial events are again set to dominate the coming days, with investors closely watching the ECB and Bank of England meetings scheduled for Thursday.

With eurozone inflation now near the 2% target, the economy showing solid growth (+1.5% in 2025), and unemployment at historic lows, it is almost certain that the ECB will leave rates unchanged after its Governing Council meeting.

The Bank of England is also expected to opt for the status quo following its December rate cut, but the slowdown in inflation, weakening labor market, and disappointing growth could prompt the central bank to consider further easing in March.

On the data front, Friday's U.S. employment report will be the week's main catalyst, with job creation expected at 70,000 in January and the unemployment rate anticipated to remain steady at 4.4%.

Given that the Federal Reserve, led by Jerome Powell, is now taking a "wait and see" approach, any new sign of labor market weakness could revive expectations for further monetary easing.

Earnings season is also set to keep markets lively, with highly anticipated releases from Alphabet (Wednesday) and Amazon (Thursday), as well as semiconductor manufacturers such as AMD and Qualcomm, which will be closely watched amid ongoing questions around AI.

In Paris, several banking heavyweights (BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole, Société Générale) are set to report, along with Amundi and Vinci.

Markets are also monitoring developments in commodities, where Friday's sell-off continues, particularly in gold and silver.

After posting its best monthly performance since 1999 in January (+13%), gold is down 7% this Monday morning after closing Friday's session down 9%, marking its worst daily performance since 2013.

Silver, for its part, is down another 9% this morning after plunging 26% on Friday, its largest daily drop on record.

"No market participant wants to risk 'catching a falling knife,' which is leading to a rapid drying up of liquidity and amplifying the downward movement," explains Michael Brown, market analyst at Pepperstone.

"Just as the rally in recent weeks may have gone too far, too fast, it is reasonable to suggest that the recent correction has also overshot," the specialist adds.

Brent crude, which saw its biggest monthly increase in four years in January (+16.2%) following threats of a U.S. attack on Iran, is following the trend and is down 4.5% to $66.2.

At this stage of the day, index futures point to a Wall Street opening down between 0.9% and 1.7%.