by Laetitia Volga

PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets are expected to open without much change on Tuesday, a few hours before the highly anticipated intervention of the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, in Congress in Washington.

The first indications available give perfect stability for the Parisian CAC 40 at the opening, a gain of 0.03% for the Dax in Frankfurt, 0.16% for the FTSE in London and a decline of 0.05% for the EuroStoxx 50.

Two weeks before the next monetary policy meeting, Jerome Powell will be heard at 3:00 p.m. GMT by the US Senate Banking Committee, before a similar hearing before the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

Observers will be watching for any indications he might make on the US labor market, the evolution of economic conditions since the February meeting and the path of inflation.

After leading interest rate hikes at a sustained pace last year, the Fed opted at its last two meetings for a 25 basis point hike. But the resilience of the economy and the tenacity of inflation since then have fueled fears that the central bank will once again be more aggressive.

Fed funds futures put a 76% chance of the Fed raising rates by 25 basis points on March 22 and a 24% chance of a half-point hike.

VALUES TO FOLLOW:

AT WALL STREET

The New York Stock Exchange could open slightly higher according to the “futures” on indices after closing Monday on weak variations.

The upturn in bond yields after the publication of a lesser than expected drop in factory orders and the caution, fueled by important meetings this week, curbed the rise in the market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.12%, or 40.47 points, to 33,431.44 points, the broader S&P-500 gained 2.78 points, or 0.07%, to 4,048.42 points. and the Nasdaq Composite fell 13.27 points (0.11%) to 11,675.74 points.

Apple climbed 1.9% as Goldman Sachs started tracking the stock with a buy recommendation, with the broker betting on the potential upside of the consumer electronics giant’s stock price by 30% .

The technology sector (+0.53%) ended up while that linked to raw materials fell by 1.7%, penalized by announcements from Beijing on a growth target of around 5% this year, less provided that.

IN ASIA

On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei index (+0.25%) reached a three-month peak in session and the Topix (+0.42%) a highest since November 2021 thanks to the relaxation on the stock market. long-term US government bonds.

However, jitters ahead of Jerome Powell’s hearing, the U.S. jobs report and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda’s final monetary policy meeting on Friday before his retirement limited gains, say the analysts.

In China, the CSI 300 fell by 1.07% and the Shanghai SSE Composite by 0.72%.

RATES/EXCHANGES

The yield on ten-year US Treasuries fell three basis points to 3.9519%, a trend that is holding back the dollar, down 0.09% against a basket of benchmark currencies.

The US currency could appreciate if Jerome Powell’s statements are perceived as more “hawkish” than expected, for example by acknowledging that inflation could be much stronger than the Fed thought last month, explains Michael Hewson at CMC Markets.

The euro is stable at 1.068 dollars, having benefited the day before from the prospect of further rate hikes of 50 basis points after the one scheduled for next week.

The Australian dollar (-0.39%) lost ground as the RBA, Australia’s central bank, hinted that it was potentially nearing the end of its key rate hike.

OIL

The oil market is up after industry executives raised supply concerns as Chinese demand picks up.

Brent gained 0.34% to 86.47 dollars a barrel and US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) 0.32% to 80.72 dollars.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS ON THE AGENDA FOR MARCH 7:

COUNTRY GMT INDICATOR PERIOD PREVIOUS CONSENSUS

FROM 07:00 January Industry Orders -1.0% +3.2%

(Laetitia Volga, edited by Blandine Hénault)

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