Wall Street - which is trading close to its all-time highs - is set to open timidly higher on Monday, two days before the publication of the eagerly-awaited consumer price figures.

Half an hour before the opening, futures contracts on New York's main indices are up between 0.2% and 0.3%, suggesting a favorable opening in line with the favorable momentum of the past three weeks.

Like last week's sessions, the day is likely to remain relatively flat on the equity markets, in the absence of any major economic indicators.

By recovering 2% last week, the S&P 500 index posted a third straight week of gains and came within 0.5% of its all-time high, as investors used disappointing statistics to bet on a forthcoming rate cut.

The highlight of the week should therefore be Wednesday's release of consumer price figures for April, which market players will be scrutinizing for clues as to the timing of future interest rate cuts.

Market players are banking on a slight slowdown in price rises, which would validate the scenario of further monetary easing.

On Wall Street, price rises this year have mainly been driven by the performance of the 'Magnificent Seven', the major technology stocks most exposed to the theme of artificial intelligence (AI).

But this trend could be about to change, according to analysts.

Angelo Kourkafas, strategist at Edward Jones, comments: "If the disinflation process were to resume, we believe that bullish potential would be found in the most forgotten areas of the stock market".

He believes that mid-caps should be the most likely to benefit from this change in the situation and the catch-up effect that goes with it.

Over the last three years, the S&P 500 has climbed by 25%, while mid-caps have gained only 10%", he points out.

The latest results, notably those of retailers Home Depot and Walmart, which will be released on Tuesday and Thursday respectively, could liven up the trend somewhat.

Also on the week's agenda, the quarterly accounts of networking equipment giant Cisco.

Results published so far have been satisfactory on the whole: of the 92% of S&P components that have reported, 78% did better than expected, but the market's reception has not been particularly favorable.

On the bond front, US Treasury yields are down, at around 4.47% for the ten-year, pending Wednesday's US inflation figures.

After last week's recovery, the oil market continues to rally, with U.S. light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) up 0.7% above $78.8.

The CBOE's VIX volatility index - known as Wall Street's fear gauge - rises 6% above 13.3 points after three weeks of declines, but remains well below its recent mid-April peaks.

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