The Paris stock market gained nearly 0.4% this morning, around 7,600 points, helped by the performances of Publicis (+4.5%) and Teleperformance (+3.5%).

In addition to a salvo of corporate earnings releases, investors are awaiting the monetary policy decisions of the European Central Bank (ECB). The ECB will issue its statement at 2:15 p.m. and, barring any surprises, is likely to opt for the 'status quo'.

The comments of ECB President Christine Lagarde will be of particular interest to traders at her press conference, which begins at 2:30 p.m.

Investors will be watching with interest for any indication of the progress of the monetary easing cycle launched last month.

While the ECB President is expected to welcome the progress made on disinflation, it seems likely that she will refrain from giving any overt signals regarding future rate movements.

"We expect Mrs. Lagarde to show a 'dovish' wait-and-see attitude at the press conference (...) and for the next rate cut to take place by September", says Martin Wolburg, senior economist at Generali Investments.

In the meantime, the European stock market is buzzing with earnings releases, including those from ABB, Nokia and Novartis, as well as Publicis and Renault in Paris.

The number of publications on the other side of the Atlantic is likely to be slightly lower this Thursday, although Netflix's performance will be closely watched this evening after Wall Street closes.

Investors will also have to contend with the unexpected return of trade issues to the forefront of the international stage, a surprise element that tripped up US equity markets last night.

The resurgence of trade tensions with China, particularly in view of Donald Trump's election in November, caused the S&P 500 to tumble 1.4%.

The Nasdaq meanwhile tumbled 2.8% to sign its worst session since the end of 2022.

On the currency markets, renewed tensions on the trade front pushed the dollar back, which broke several supports yesterday, allowing the euro to return to contact with 1.0935 in anticipation of the ECB's decisions.

On the bond front, trading remains rather quiet, proving that traders are not expecting much from the ECB meeting.

The yield on the 10-year German Bund remains unchanged at around 2.43%, while that on French OATs of the same maturity is equally stable at 3.08%.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries continues its downward trend and remains firmly anchored below the critical 4.20% threshold, which corresponds to lows since March.

On the oil market, crude oil prices remain buoyed by the prospect of the election of Donald Trump, whose policies are deemed favorable to the sector, helping to support prices.

Brent is currently up 0.4% at over $85.4 a barrel, while US light crude is up 0.7% at 83.4, putting it in a good position to line up a sixth consecutive week of gains.

In French company news, Publicis Groupe reports that it is revising upwards its 2024 net income organic growth target to between +5 and +6% from +4 to +5% previously, 'despite the persistence of macroeconomic uncertainties'.

For the first half of 2024, Renault Group reports a 1.9% increase in global sales to 1,154,700 vehicles, driven by Europe, where volumes rose by 6.7% to 847,623, outperforming a market up 5.5%.

Finally, Alstom and DT Infrastructure announce that they have signed a contract worth one billion euros with the Western Australian Public Transport Authority, for high-capacity signalling technology for Perth's suburban rail network.

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