France’s 10-year OAT yield hovered around 3.44%, near a four-week high, as concerns over stalled 2026 budget talks and broader fiscal uncertainty weighed on investor sentiment. Parliamentary deadlock has left key bills unvoted, raising the prospect that the government could enact the budget through an unprecedented executive order. The Finance Ministry, however, said it remains confident the budget can be passed by year-end, while maintaining its target of cutting the public deficit to 4.7% of GDP. The European Central Bank signaled it is unlikely to resume bond purchases in the near term, maintaining its quantitative normalisation program and reinforcing expectations for a relatively tight monetary policy path. In the US, expectations for a December Fed rate cut strengthened after Challenger data showed layoffs surged to the highest October level in 20 years, tempering optimism from Wednesday’s stronger-than-expected ADP employment and ISM services reports.