The Paris Bourse is set to open higher on Thursday, following in the footsteps of the US markets, a few hours ahead of the European Central Bank's (ECB) likely announcement of its first rate cut since 2019.

At around 8.15am, the 'future' contract on the CAC 40 index - for delivery at the end of June - was up 22.5 points at 8032.5 points, suggesting a green start to the session.

The ECB is due to announce the decisions of its Governing Council at 2:15 p.m. in a press release, followed half an hour later by a press conference with President Christine Lagarde.

The Frankfurt-based institution is set to become the first major central bank to ease monetary policy, with the avowed aim of revitalizing economic activity on the Old Continent.

"It's the right time", says Christopher Dembik, Investment Strategy Advisor at Pictet AM.

The recovery in the eurozone, which has been underway since the first quarter, absolutely needs lower rates to accelerate", the analyst stresses.

While a 25 basis point rate cut is widely priced in, investors are mainly waiting to see how the central bank's thinking develops, particularly in view of the bumpy road taken by disinflation.

In particular, investors will be looking for clues as to the speed and scale of the forthcoming easing cycle.

"The ECB (...) could reassure markets that further cuts are planned over the coming quarters", stresses Thomas Hempell, Head of Macroeconomic and Market Research at Generali AM.

The markets are dreaming of a favorable environment for equities, combining monetary easing on both sides of the Atlantic, moderate global growth and continued disinflation

'That said, the recovery in equities, the fall in volatility and the high level of investor positioning in risk assets reflect a high degree of optimism in the markets, which is keeping the risk of temporary setbacks at a high level', Thomas Hempell moderates.

With a gain of almost 2% yesterday, the Nasdaq managed to set a new all-time high, still buoyed by the craze surrounding AI and more specifically Nvidia (+5.2%).

With a market valuation of $3,012 billion, the processor manufacturer yesterday overtook Apple ($3.005 billion) and could soon overtake Microsoft (3,145 billion).

On the indicators front, investors will take note in the morning of German industrial orders figures, followed by retail sales in the euro zone.

In the United States, jobless claims will be closely watched on the eve of the publication of the official monthly employment report.

In the meantime, the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds posted its fifth consecutive session of declines, falling five basis points to 4.28%, taking it back to its lowest level since March.

In the oil market, Brent North Sea crude ended a bull run of five consecutive sessions in the red, rebounding 0.4% to $78.7.

U.S. light crude (WTI) followed suit, recovering 0.5% to $74.5.

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