The Paris Bourse is set to open slightly higher on Monday morning, recovering somewhat from last week's losses in a market that is unlikely to be very active on the Pentecost bank holiday.

At around 8:15 a.m., the future contract on the CAC 40 index - which has now switched to June maturity - was up 9.5 points at 8134 points, pointing to modest gains at the start of the session.

The Paris index had retreated by 0.6% last week, the victim of some profit-taking after its recent all-time highs.

The underperformance of the CAC, which repeatedly stalled below its major resistance at 8250 points, contrasts with the continuing surge of the US indices.

Wall Street has just posted its fifth consecutive week of gains, a performance which enabled the Dow Jones to close above the 40,000-point threshold on Friday evening for the first time in its history.

Against this backdrop of optimism, Nvidia's results - due to be released on Wednesday evening - will be the focus of investor attention, as they will determine the ability of the technology sector to continue to drive the markets higher.

Analysts are expecting better-than-expected performances from the Californian processor manufacturer and an increase in its annual targets, as is the group's wont.

Beyond its forecasts, professionals also want the group to prove its ability to preserve its undisputed 'leadership' in the AI segment, perhaps with the announcement of new projects.

Good news would undeniably confirm the favorable direction of tech stocks, particularly those focused on artificial intelligence.

While Nvidia's share price has gained over 86% since the start of the year, some investors are beginning to question its remaining upside potential.

Market participants will also be keeping an eye on a whole series of statistics, starting with the European PMI indices due on Friday, which will tell us more about the economic recovery on the Old Continent.

Statistics will be rarer in the United States, although the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting will be closely followed on Wednesday evening.

In recent weeks, markets have reacted positively to slowing inflation and weaker-than-expected indicators from the US, as they augur well for further rate cuts by the Fed.

While the adage 'Bad news is good news' is currently dominant, some strategists are wondering whether a context of softer growth could end up having a negative impact on world stock markets.

The question now is: how long can negative macroeconomic news continue to support equity valuations?" asks Florian Ielpo, Head of Macroeconomic Research at Lombard Odier Investment Managers.

"It seems that falling interest rates are no longer enough to support the markets, which raises the spectre of potential pitfalls", warns the professional.

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