After spending the whole day in negative territory, the Paris Bourse ended the session down 0.75%, at 7937 points, penalized in particular by TotalEnergies and Renault, which lost 2.4% and 2.3% respectively.

Across the Atlantic, Wall Street was also draped in red, with the Nasdaq and S&P500 losing 0.4%, just behind the Dow Jones (-0.1%).

On the bond front, yields continued to ease, with Bunds and OATs once again falling by -4.5pts (to 2.538% and 3.026% respectively for the 10-year maturity) and US T-Bonds by -4.5pts (to 4.354%, the third consecutive session of declines).

On the economic front, the agenda was rather light. US industrial orders came in at +0.7% in April, while the Labor Department counted 8.059 million job offers in April (March offers were revised downwards to 8.355 million).

This morning, the markets were informed of a drop in unemployment in Germany in May, pointing to a possible slow recovery in growth.

According to data published on Tuesday by the Federal Labor Office, the number of jobseekers fell last month by 27,000 to around 2.72 million in seasonally-adjusted figures.

The markets are likely to remain cautious until the ECB announces its decisions on Thursday, followed by a much-anticipated press conference by its President Christine Lagarde.

The ECB's two-day meeting is expected to conclude with a 25 basis point cut in key rates, bringing them down to 3.75% for the deposit facility.

But investors will be especially attentive to any hint of the future trajectory of rates, given that inflationary pressures are only gradually receding on the Old Continent.... and wage costs are expected to remain above +4% annualized by the end of the year.

Some strategists are nevertheless expecting limited movements in indices, given the ECB's usually cautious approach to its outlook.

Danske Bank analysts predict that "the market reaction may well prove to be unremarkable, as has been the case following previous Governing Council meetings, and the announcement of a 25-point cut may well be regarded as a non-event by the markets".

In parallel with the ECB's decisions, on Friday market participants will be following the publication of the monthly US employment report, which will provide them with further food for thought on the US economic situation.

On the oil front, Brent North Sea crude (-0.9% to $77.4) confirmed its decline, sinking below $78 for the first time since February, despite OPEC+'s extension of its production limitation agreement.

In the news from French companies, TotalEnergies announces the signature of two new medium- and long-term contracts for the delivery of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Asia, enabling it to secure medium-term outlets and strengthen its presence in these markets.

Crédit Agricole SA reports that its subsidiary Indosuez Wealth Management, having obtained the necessary authorizations, has finalized the acquisition of Degroof Petercam, in which it becomes the majority shareholder (65% of the capital) alongside CLdN Cobelfret (nearly 20%).

Sanofi reports positive data from the IMROZ phase III study, evaluating its Sarclisa in experimental use in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma not eligible for transplantation.

Finally, Atos lost more than 14% at the close, as Invest Securities adopted a 'sell' opinion on the stock, with a target price of 0.01 euro (i.e. post-restructuring par value) in view of the indications given, following a financial restructuring offer from OnePoint.

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