The Paris stock market lost nearly 1.9% in mid-afternoon trading around the 7,390-point mark, penalized by the heavy decline of Alstom, down more than 11% behind LVMH (-4%).
Across the Atlantic, the S&P500 and Dow Jones began the session down by around 0.4%

"A period of doubt often follows the euphoria of the end-of-year period", analyzed Christopher Dembik, investment strategy advisor at Pictet AM, this morning, for whom visibility on the trajectory of the economy and markets should improve "by the end of the month".

While it's not surprising to see a pause after the rapid rise of most risky assets in the last two months of 2023, we believe that the outlook for bonds and, especially, equities is promising for 2024 as a whole", say the teams at Capital Economics.

Many strategists say they expect the S&P 500, the benchmark index for US fund managers, to reach the 5,000-point mark this year, representing a theoretical rise of around 5%.

As for Europe, analysts point to the low valuation of European equities and a very marked discount to US markets, which they believe is set to narrow.

According to the economists at Swiss Life Asset Managers, global stock markets offer a realistic potential return of 3% to 7% (total return) in 2024, given the prospects for earnings growth.

The attention of investors returning from their vacations will be focused this Wednesday on the publication in the USA of the ISM manufacturing index, which is expected to rise for the month of December after remaining stable for the previous month.

The markets also took note this morning of a rise in the number of jobseekers in Germany. The number of jobseekers rose by 31,000 in December compared with the previous month, to 2,637,000, or 5.7% of the active population (+0.1 points), according to the monthly report from the Federal Employment Agency.

Also on the statistics front, activity in the US manufacturing sector saw its contraction slow last month, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), whose index rose to 47.4, compared with 46.7 for November.

Lastly, on the bond front, the 10-year German Bund rate, the benchmark for European risk-free rates, moved slightly above 2%, following a year-end rally that was described as "out of the ordinary".

The yield on 10-year US Treasuries also tightened, to around 4%, after falling steadily for more than two months.

On the currency markets, the euro rebounded unconvincingly, hovering around $1.0920, with traders believing that sluggish growth, falling inflation and the prospect of monetary easing augur well for a weak single currency this year.

In French company news, Kering lost almost 4% and thus underperformed the trend in Paris, with unfavorable comments from Stifel which, while maintaining its 'hold' recommendation, lowered its price target from 430 to 420 euros on the Gucci parent company's stock.

Renault claims to have outperformed the French automotive market in 2023 and to be the leader in PC + LCV (passenger cars and light commercial vehicles) sales with 390.484 registrations, an increase of 16%.

Thales announced on Wednesday the signing of a contract for the delivery of new-generation medium-range ground radars for the Lithuanian Army.

While maintaining its 'neutral' position on Pernod Ricard, UBS has lowered its price target from €167 to €163, a new target leaving only 5% upside potential for the French spirits group's shares.

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