The Paris stock market ended the session down just 0.16%, at 7,571 points, penalized by Renault and URW (-1.3%), which overshadowed the dynamism of Teleperformance (+4%).

The session was marked by low volumes, with barely 2 billion euros traded since the opening.

The easing of yields on US 10-year T-Bonds and German Bunds of the same maturity (to 3.86% and 1.95% respectively) maintained optimism that monetary policy would be eased in 2024.

The markets remained indifferent to the day's four US figures: no reaction to the downward revision of third-quarter US GDP growth from +5.2% to 4.9% (final estimate).

No reaction to the announcement of a further deterioration in the Philly Fed index, which stood at -10.5 this month compared with -5.9 in November, whereas economists were expecting it to be around -3.

No reaction to the -0.5% decline in the index of indicators in November (after -1% in October): the Conference Board, which calculates these figures, anticipates a recession in early 2024.

Finally, there was no reaction either to weekly jobless claims, which rose by a marginal 2,000 to 205,000 at the end of the week of December 11, compared with the previous week.

All of today's data would support the scenario of a 'soft landing', or even that of a 'fairy tale' ('goldilocks') combining moderate growth and low inflation (no recession, no significant drop in corporate profits).

But investors could be hesitant on the eve of the household income and expenditure figures, which will include the 'PCE' price index, closely watched by the Federal Reserve.

The dollar relapses against the euro, which rises towards $1.10 (+0.4%).

Oil prices consolidate horizontally: Brent crude gives up 0.2%, at $79 a barrel.

In French company news, Airbus announces that the Spanish Ministry of Defense has ordered 16 Airbus C295s in Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) and Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (MSA) configurations, a contract worth almost 1.7 billion euros.

Casino announced on Thursday the convening of an upcoming meeting to allow its shareholders and creditors to vote on the draft accelerated safeguard plans.

Neoen announced that it had won 104.4 MWp of solar projects in the latest government call for tenders in France managed by the Commission de Régulation de l'Energie (CRE), making it the leading winner of CRE calls for tenders to date.

Groupe Crit announces the signature of a memorandum of understanding for the acquisition of a 57.7% majority stake in Openjobmetis, Italy's sixth-largest temporary employment agency, at a price of 16.50 euros per share.

Finally, British start-up Exscientia announced on Thursday an extension of its strategic collaboration agreement with Sanofi, which will be strengthened by a new program.


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