Around 12:00 pm, the CAC 40 shows a drop of about 0.5%, hovering near 8,285 points, while the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 slips 0.2%. London's FTSE advances 0.4%, but Frankfurt's DAX loses 0.3%.

For the record, across the Atlantic, the S&P 500 ended yesterday's session down more than 0.3% at 6,942 points, while the Dow Jones inched up 0.1% to 50,188 points and the Nasdaq 100 lost under 0.6% to 25,128 points.


U.S. Jobs Report Takes Center Stage This Wednesday

All eyes will be on the U.S. Department of Labor this afternoon, as it is set to release its monthly employment report for the previous month, with particular focus on nonfarm payrolls.

As a reminder, the release of this report was postponed from last Friday due to the "shutdown" that affected the U.S. federal government at the very start of the month.

"Our economists expect a total of 75,000 jobs created, both overall and in the private sector (with consensus at +69,000 and +75,000, respectively), a modest improvement compared to recent trends," according to Deutsche Bank.

"The prevailing narrative about the U.S. labor market, summed up by the phrase 'low hiring, low layoffs,' remains valid for now, as jobless claims continue to be very low," notes Enguerrand Artaz.

"However, the string of disappointing figures and announcements of layoffs here and there is gradually taking its toll," warns this strategist at La Financière de l'Échiquier (LFDE).


Dassault Systèmes' Freefall Accelerates After Results

In Paris, trading is dominated by the 20% plunge of Dassault Systèmes: already under pressure due to concerns about the impact of the AI revolution on software publishers, the company is being heavily penalized for its results and outlook.

"The revenue growth forecast for fiscal 2026 of 3 to 5% falls short of expectations and reflects a company facing business model challenges," highlights Jefferies, which maintains its "underperform" rating on the stock.

Conversely, TotalEnergies leads the CAC 40 with a gain of nearly 2%, buoyed by its generous shareholder payout policy: the oil giant will increase its annual dividend even as it reported lower results for fiscal 2025.

Elsewhere in Europe, Heineken is up nearly 3% in Amsterdam, having managed to outperform expectations in 2025, thanks in part to a strong finish to the year, despite what are considered cautious forecasts from the brewer for 2026.


Euro, Gold, and Oil Trending Higher

Outside the equity markets, the euro is appreciating by about 0.3% against the dollar, at 1.192 USD. Gold is up 0.6% at 5,070 USD. Finally, on the commodities market, oil prices are rising, with Brent crude up 1% to around 69.7 USD per barrel.