by Laetitia Volga

PARIS (Reuters) – Most European stock markets ended lower on Wednesday, but far from their low for the day, while calm returned to Wall Street the day after its worst session of the year and a few hours before the publication of the minutes of the last US Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting.

In Paris, the CAC 40 lost 0.13% to 7,299.26 points. The British Footsie fell 0.68% and the German Dax ended flat.

The EuroStoxx 50 index lost 0.24%, the FTSEurofirst 300 fell 0.33% and the Stoxx 600 0.38%.

At the time of the close in Europe, Wall Street was moving close to equilibrium: the Dow Jones gained 0.12%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 0.03% and the Nasdaq Composite 0.11%.

The US market will take notice at 19:00 GMT of the minutes of the February meeting of the Fed, which resulted in a slowdown in the rate hike to a quarter of a point. The document could provide investors with new indications on the state of mind within the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) one month before its next decision.

“The ‘minutes’ should indicate that the fight against inflation is not yet over and that some regions of the United States show pockets of consumer resilience,” said Peter Cardillo, chief economist at Spartan. Capital Securities. “All indicators point to the Fed remaining hawkish.”

Several solid indicators – on the labor market, economic activity or consumer spending – undermined the stock market rally at the start of the year, based on an economic slowdown scenario capable of convincing central banks to suspend the rise in their interest rates.

German business sentiment improved in February for the fourth consecutive month, bolstering signs of recovery in Europe’s largest economy.

VALUES

At the head of the CAC 40, Danone advanced by 4.49%, the food group having generated a quarterly turnover better than expected, driven by the rise in prices. Stellantis gained 2.10% after reporting better-than-expected second-half operating profit growth.

In the red, Korian fell 19.86% to post its worst session since its listing at the end of 2006, after the publication of annual results and forecasts for 2023 deemed disappointing.

Euronext fell 7.44% after announcing an indicative offer to buy the fund distribution platform Allfunds, up 17.25%.

The Frankfurt Stock Exchange limited the damage thanks to Fresenius Medical Care whose share jumped 7.32%, its parent company Fresenius SE having announced the day before a plan to cede strategic control of the dialysis group in difficulty.

RATES/EXCHANGES

The 10-year German Bund yield hit a more than 10-year high on the prospect of a higher than previously expected central bank terminal rate. It ended the day at 2.514% after hitting 2.57% for the first time since August 2011.

Its American equivalent rose to its highest level since mid-November, at 3.969% before falling back around 3.92%.

The dollar gains 0.15% against a basket of currencies and the euro is trading around 1.062 dollars.

OIL

The oil market is down for the third session in a row as concern over demand grows a few hours before the release of the Fed’s “minutes”, which could suggest that further rate hikes are necessary.

Brent lost 2.19% to 81.23 dollars a barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) 2.4% below 75 dollars.

TO FOLLOW ON THURSDAY:

(Laetitia Volga, edited by Blandine Hénault)

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