After two difficult sessions, the CAC40 ended the day up 1.91%, at 7,266 points, helped by rebounds from Teleperformance (+3.7%), Schneider Electric (+3.3%) and Vinci and Vivendi, which each gained 3.1%.

These performances followed in the wake of Wall Street, where the Nasdaq gained 1.6% ahead of the S&P500 (+1.3%) and the Dow Jones (+0.8%), as fears about the US economic outlook tended to ease.

According to Christopher Dembik, Investment Strategy Consultant at Pictet AM, the new scenarios that have emerged in recent days, calling for an emergency meeting of the Fed or a rate cut of at least 50 basis points by the Fed and the ECB in September, are "chimerical".

"They just have the effect of adding to the prevailing atmosphere of anxiety. The macroeconomic scenario is basically unchanged from June: it's still one of a soft landing", assures the expert.

Many analysts are therefore seeking reassurance after the sharp fall in equity markets following the much worse-than-expected employment report unveiled at the end of last week in the USA.

Michael Strobaek, Global CIO at Lombard Odier, comments: "Despite the slowdown in the jobs market, both the US economy and consumers are doing rather well in our view, and the risks of recession seem limited.

"Stock markets could stabilize over the next few weeks, but we expect volatility to remain high. The Swiss franc is likely to remain underpinned by demand for safe-haven assets", he warns.

This morning's statistics include French and German trade balance figures for June. Weekly oil inventories in the USA were also published in the afternoon.

In June 2024, France's trade balance improved significantly according to CVS-CJO data from the customs administration, with the deficit falling to 6.09 billion euros after 7.72 billion in May. This mainly reflects a 3.2% month-on-month increase in French exports, to just under 51.7 billion euros, while imports remained stable at just over 57.7 billion.

Germany's foreign trade balance posted a surplus of 20.4 billion euros in June 2024, down from 25.3 billion the previous month, according to seasonally and calendar adjusted data from Destatis.

Data published by the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) showed that US crude oil inventories stood at 429.3 million barrels in the week to July 29, down 3.7 million barrels on the previous week.

On the Forex front, the euro remained stable against the greenback, at $1.092/E, while Brent crude oil rebounded to $78.8 (+3.6%).

On the Paris stock front, Airbus announced a firm order from Cathay for 30 A330-900 aircraft, as part of the Hong Kong airline's renewal of its fleet of medium-size wide-body jets.

Jefferies downgraded its recommendation on Stellantis from 'buy' to 'hold', with a price target reduced from 25 to 15 euros, believing that 'by focusing on costs, CEO Carlos Tavares has made the group more efficient than competitive'.

Lastly, ArcelorMittal gained more than 2.5% on the back of positive comments from Oddo BHF, which, while reducing its target price from 32 to 30 euros, reiterated its 'outperform' opinion on the steelmaker's stock, which 'remains its favorite value in the sector along with SSAB'.

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