by Claude Chendjou

PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets are expected to rise slightly on Wednesday at the opening amid ebb fears of a financial crisis and the prospect of a lull in Federal Reserve (Fed) rates after the slowdown in inflation in the United States, while new macroeconomic indicators are on the agenda for the day.

According to the first indications available, the CAC 40 in Paris should advance by 0.11% at the opening. The Dax in Frankfurt could gain 0.18%, the FTSE 100 in London 0.10% and the EuroStoxx 50 index 0.14%.

While the shock wave caused by the bankruptcy of the American bank SVB seems to be easing, investors now have their eyes on the meetings of the major central banks, starting with that of the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday and those of the Bank of England and the Fed next week.

While the market is still pricing in a 50 basis point rise in ECB rates, for the BoE and the Fed, bets range from a status quo to a rise limited to 25 basis points in the context of a slowdown in the rise in wages in Britain and decelerating consumer prices in the United States.

The U.S. producer price data, due at 12:30 GMT, could confirm Reuters consensus that inflationary pressures are easing in February, while retail sales, due at the same time, will provide insight into the developments in the US economy.

In Europe, investors will learn at 07:45 GMT of the final inflation figures in France for the last month and at 10:00 GMT of the data on industrial production in the euro zone in January.

As for corporate financial publications, E.ON, BMW, Inditex, Telecom Italia and Adobe are on the agenda.

AT WALL STREET

The New York Stock Exchange ended sharply higher on Tuesday after the release of inflation data in line with expectations and an easing of concerns about the banking sector.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.06%, or 336.26 points, to 32,155.40 points.

The broader S&P-500 gained 64.80 points, or 1.68%, to 3,920.56 points.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced for its part by 239.31 points (2.14%) to 11,428.15 points.

IN ASIA

On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei index ended stable (+0.03%) at 27,229.48 points and the broader Topix rose 0.65% to 1,960.12 points.

Regarding monetary policy, the “minutes” of the Bank of Japan (BoJ) meeting of January 17 and 18 showed on Tuesday that it had debated the possibility of modifying the control of the ten-year yield curve whose ceiling cannot currently exceed 0.5%.

In China, the Shanghai SSE Composite rose 0.6% and the CSI 300 gained 0.12% after macroeconomic statistics showed that the country recorded an increase in industrial production and retail sales respectively of 2% in February. .4% and 3.5% over one year.

CHANGES

The dollar was stable (-0.01%) against a basket of reference currencies and the euro was almost unchanged at 1.0732 dollars (+0.01%).

The Japanese currency is displayed at 134.71 yen per dollar (-0.37%) after the minutes of the BoJ.

The pound sterling is treading water at 1.215 dollars (-0.07%) while British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt is due to present the government’s budget at 12:30 GMT and announcements are expected in particular on vocational training and the investment of businesses.

RATE

Short-term bond yields, which had fallen sharply at the start of the week, rose further, with the US two-year taking 9.2 basis points on Wednesday, to 4.31%, against a peak last week at 5.084%.

OIL

Oil prices are on the rise again, OPEC having raised its crude demand forecast for China for this year on Tuesday: Brent rose 1.16% to 78.35 dollars a barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) 1.26% to $72.23.

METALS

Gold falls back below the symbolic threshold of 1,900 dollars an ounce after its sharp rise linked to fears of a financial crisis. Around 06:30 GMT, it is trading at 1,899.41 dollars (-0.14%).

(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse)

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