(News Bulletin 247) – The Parisian index is falling slightly at mid-session this Thursday.

Sluggishness continues to prevail on the Parisian market this Thursday. At mid-session, the CAC 40 dropped 0.22% to 7,555.05 points in still very low volumes, with barely 280 million euros of shares traded.

The CAC 40 is especially penalized by the decline of Totalenergies (-1.2%), a stock which is itself dragged down by the drop in oil prices. The March contract on North Sea Brent fell 1.3% to $78.48 per barrel, while the February contract on WTI listed in New York lost 1.6% to $72.93 per barrel.

Black gold prices fall “as global shipping giants prepare to resume shipping in the Red Sea despite missile attacks from Houthi rebels. The decision to resume operations reflects a calculated risk, betting on success of a new multinational maritime task force, Prosperity Guardian, responsible for protecting the region”, explains Stephen Innes of Spi Asset Management.

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The euro in good shape against the dollar

Otherwise, investors will monitor the release of weekly unemployment claims in the United States at 2:30 p.m. Without being the most influential employment indicator, these statistics are always monitored to try to detect a trend and ultimately anticipate the evolution of the monetary policy of the American Federal Reserve.

“The period between Christmas and New Year is not generally characterized by a significant influx of news likely to influence the market,” notes Stephen Innes.

In terms of values, it is the flat encephalogram, excluding Totalenergies. L’Oréal, the largest increase in the CAC 40, took 0.5% when Renault lost 0.8%.

On the currency side, the euro gained 0.2% against the dollar and stood at 1.113 dollars, its highest level since last July.