The Paris Bourse was up slightly on Tuesday morning, after falling sharply the previous day, as the Federal Reserve began its autumn monetary policy meeting. The CAC40 index gained 0.2% towards 7,295 points.

Investors are likely to be cautious as they await announcements from the Fed's policy committee, which begins today and concludes tomorrow with a press conference by Chairman Jerome Powell.

The consensus view is that the Fed should leave rates unchanged, with the probability of a rate hike deemed virtually nil, since the FedWatch barometer rates the 'status quo' scenario at 99%.

According to analysts, however, the upturn in oil prices observed since the end of the summer, and the healthy state of the US economy, are likely to push the Fed to maintain a restrictive approach.

'While the 25 basis point increase in the Fed Funds rate adopted in July was probably the last of the current cycle, the Fed will remain vigilant in the face of inflation, and the first rate cuts will not come before the second quarter of 2024', believes César Perez Ruiz, Head of Investments at Pictet Wealth Management.

Elsewhere, the Fed will be eagerly awaited on the 'dots', i.e. the interest-rate forecasts of its officials.

Among the day's statistics, investors will hear the final figures for consumer prices in the eurozone at the end of the morning.

In the USA, building permits and housing starts are expected to stagnate after their first-half recovery, due to signs of weakness in the apartment segment.

Yesterday, the Paris market had lost almost 1.4%, falling back below 7,300 points (to 7,276) as a result of the 12% fall in Societe Generale, whose strategic plan received a cool reception.

Some analysts are nonetheless reassuring, recommending staying the course and favoring European equities.

"There are still the same small pockets of risk here and there, but without diffusion at this stage", believes the asset manager.

From a fundamental point of view, and in the central scenario of sluggish growth, market potential remains well above 10% for eurozone equities, stresses Ginjer, who believes that upside potential is even greater for certain neglected stocks, such as financials and industrials.

Stock markets fell in Europe, but this did not benefit the bond sector, with the yield on ten-year Bunds trending towards 2.70%.

Wall Street, for its part, started the week with no direction, as the three main New York indices remained virtually stable, with almost uniform scores.

The situation was more alarming for Treasuries, whose yields not only retraced their August 21 zenith (4.35%) but also broke through to 4.36%, a new annual record and a peak since mid-June 2008.

On the currency markets, the dollar consolidated at the margin ahead of the Fed meeting, hovering around the 1.0665 threshold against the euro.

Crude oil prices remain on an uptrend, with Brent gaining 0.4% to close to $95 a barrel this morning, while U.S. light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) climbed 1% to $92.4.

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