The Paris Bourse is set to open on a relatively stable note on Thursday morning, pausing after a series of record high closes in recent trading sessions.

At around 8:15 a.m., the April-delivery future contract on the CAC 40 index was up 10 points at 7562.5, suggesting a modest advance at the start of the session.

The Paris market had ended yesterday's session with a 0.2% gain to 7549 points, a new all-time closing high, continuing its series of record highs set since the beginning of the month.

While the trend remains buoyed by hopes of a soft landing for the economy and forthcoming monetary easing by central banks, the favorable momentum of recent weeks appears to be waning somewhat.

For analysts at Capital Economics, the 'rally' currently being experienced by the major European stock markets could soon come to a halt.

'We believe that Eurozone equity markets will find themselves in trouble as economic activity in the region weakens more than investors expect', warns the London-based research firm.

From a technical point of view, analysts at Kiplink Finance note that the bullish sequence underpinning the CAC 40 appears 'less sustained and slower'.

While European investors are displaying a more cautious optimism, the trend is the same on Wall Street, where markets are also starting to run out of fuel.

The New York Stock Exchange ended on a weak note on Wednesday evening, at the end of a session marked by the publication of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book.

The document stressed that the banking crisis in March had weighed on financial activity, particularly in the San Francisco and New York regions, while also pointing to some decline in commercial real estate.

At the final bell, the Dow Jones was down 0.2% at 3,397 points, while the Nasdaq Composite finished stable at 1,2157 points.

On the economic front, Thursday's session will be marked by the publication of France's business climate index, the eurozone's trade balance and the minutes of the ECB's latest meeting.

Also on the day's agenda are the Philadelphia Fed index, jobless claims, Conference Board leading indicators and old home sales, to be released in the afternoon.

Market operators will also be keeping an eye on the day's numerous corporate results, following the mixed accounts unveiled last night by Tesla and IBM.

In terms of interest rates, bond markets are slowing their slide, even though European yields are once again approaching those seen at the end of last year.

In France, OAT yields remain above the 3% threshold, while Bunds are easing slightly below the 2.50% mark.

In the United States, the yield on US Treasuries is holding above 3.60%, its highest level for a month.

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