The Paris Bourse began the session slightly lower on Tuesday morning, in the absence of any catalysts to continue the upward trend seen at the start of the year, which had taken it to record levels in April. The CAC 40 index lost 0.3% towards 7180 points.

The Paris market ended Monday's session down by almost 1% at 7200 points, penalized in particular by the downturn in luxury stocks, the real driving forces behind the stock market this year.

Investors seem intent on waiting for the next element likely to push the market even higher, or on the contrary, bring about a consolation episode.

Many strategists point out that the buoyant winds that have recently supported the indices are now turning: interest rates are rising, inflation is struggling to come down and the cost of capital is rising.

For some, a liquidity crisis could even lie in wait for the markets, with the risk of destabilization, not to mention the persistent uncertainties surrounding growth, which are keeping market participants on their toes.

'Furthermore, we observe a clear dissonance between the Fed, which is not planning any rate cuts, the resilience of the equity markets and the expectations of the bond markets - which are incorporating rate cuts as early as this year', points out Laura Corrieras, equity portfolio manager at Indosuez Wealth Management.

The analyst notes, however, that European equities remain 'attractive' and continue to trade at a record discount to the US market.

At Kiplink Finance, the technical configuration of the CAC has become 'more favorable', with the possibility of closing the bearish gap between 7260 and 7300 points.

'The first bullish targets are now more ambitious, while resistance at 7375 and 7415 points is becoming affordable again', the brokerage believes.

The day promises to be a quiet one, in the absence of leading indicators and corporate results likely to set a trend.

Only German industrial orders and eurozone retail sales figures were expected later this morning.

German manufacturing orders fell by 0.4% on a seasonally and calendar adjusted basis in April 2023 compared with March, according to provisional Destatis results.

Retail sales remained unchanged in the eurozone in April compared with the previous month, show data published Tuesday by Eurostat. According to estimates by the European Union's statistics office, the volume of retail trade in non-food products rose by 0.5% month-on-month.

With no major statistics on today's agenda, investors will be hard-pressed to find any further inspiration in the bond compartment.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries was little changed at 3.69%, as the latest US indicators reinforced the prospect of a status quo from the Fed at the end of its meeting next week.

On the Old Continent, the yield on the 10-year Bund, the eurozone's benchmark rate, gave up just over a basis point to 2.37% in early European trading.

In the energy market, benchmark crude oil contracts fell on profit-taking after rebounding strongly yesterday in response to OPEC's promise to cut production in order to support prices.

Brent crude lost 0.6% to $76.3 a barrel, while US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) shed 0.7% to $71.6.

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