Paris (France) (AFP) – The Paris Stock Exchange is stable on Thursday, cautious before the announcement of monetary policy decisions from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank (ECB) while digesting some company results.
Published on: 05/02/2026 - 10:43
Around 10:20 a.m., Paris time, the flagship CAC 40 index was in balance (-0.01%), at 8,261.27 points (-0.89 points compared to the previous day's close).
“Central bank policy and commentary could provide direction later in the session, with rate decisions expected from the Bank of England (BoE) and European Central Bank (ECB),” said Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Investors expect rates to hold, but the market will be sensitive to any signals about "if and when there will be future rate cuts," noted XTB analyst Kathleen Brooks.
"With the Eurozone inflation figure released on Wednesday at 1.7%, well below the ECB's 2% target, there are more and more voices calling for a further cut in borrowing rates. This could help curb the rise of the euro against the dollar, providing welcome relief to exporters," Nathan said.
Last week, the euro briefly rose above $1.20, a four-and-a-half year high, before falling back to $1.18, amid the prospect that Kevin Warsh, a supporter of tight monetary policy, would become the next president of the US central bank (Fed).
Around 10:20 a.m., the single European currency lost 0.12% against the greenback, at 1.1793 dollars per euro.
On the debt market, the yield on the ten-year German bond, the Bund, which is the benchmark in Europe, stood at 2.87%, compared to 2.86% on Wednesday. Its French equivalent was at 3.46%, after 3.45% the day before.
On the Parisian stock exchange, BNP Paribas was in the spotlight, with the stock rising 3.43% to 94.05 euros, the market welcoming the French bank after the publication of its record net profit in 2025.
The steelmaker ArcelorMittal advanced 1.54% to 48.27 euros, after it published on Thursday a net profit of 3.15 billion dollars for 2025, against 1.34 billion a year earlier, and despite a slight decline in its sales. The market also sees an improvement in the group's prospects. The company said its results would benefit from protectionist measures from the European Union.
© 2026 AFP
The content you are trying to access does not exist or is no longer available.
