European stock markets are trading without clear direction today (-0.2% in London, -0.1% in Paris and Madrid, +0.2% in Frankfurt), in a session marked by the absence of American investors due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
Ahead of a four-day weekend (with only a half-session on Friday), Wall Street managed to notch a fourth consecutive day of gains on Wednesday, buoyed by the increasingly widespread expectation of another interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
This prospect of a reduction in borrowing costs across the Atlantic has continued to fuel renewed risk appetite among investors, with stocks linked to the artificial intelligence theme benefiting most.
Continental European indices also performed strongly on Wednesday (+1.1% for the EuroStoxx 600), but "today should be quieter, as US markets are closed for Thanksgiving," according to Deutsche Bank.
With no US data expected before the end of the week, investors turned their attention to the eurozone economic sentiment index, which edged up by 0.2 points to 97 for November.
This near-stability results from increased confidence in services, retail, and construction, offset by declining confidence in industry, while household sentiment remained largely unchanged.
Another data point from Europe this morning: the German GfK consumer sentiment index, calculated by the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM), improved in the outlook for December, rising to -23.2 from -24.1 in November.
"This is rather good news for consumption heading into the Christmas period," said Rolf Bürkl, analyst at NIM. "These figures indicate some stabilization in activity, with households in much the same mindset as at the end of 2024."
On the Paris stock exchange, leisure vehicle manufacturer Trigano (+11%) leads the SBF120 after its annual results, ahead of Valneva (+4%), which is benefiting from a reorganization plan for the vaccine company in France.
