by Laetitia Volga

PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets are expected to rise slightly on Monday at the opening, at the start of a week rich in economic indicators and company results for the first quarter.

The first indications available give an increase of 0.23% for the CAC 40 in Paris and the FTSE in London, 0.16% for the Dax in Frankfurt and the EuroStoxx 50.

European stocks ended in the green on Friday as better-than-expected results from US banks and the prospect of a pause in the cycle of Federal Reserve (Fed) rate hikes allowed the Stoxx 600 to reach a peak over a year.

Whole swaths of the US economy have already begun to slow under the impact of rising rates. However, resilience in core retail sales and a jump in inflation expectations led investors to limit the extent of monetary easing expected this year to around 55 basis points.

“April data on the labor market, inflation and consumption indicate that the Fed still has work to do and that a soft landing is more likely than a sharp and relatively sudden contraction in activity. “, said analysts at ANZ, who expect two more quarter-point rate hikes in the year.

Quarterly corporate publications will dominate in the coming days, with Goldman Sachs, Tesla, ASML and Renault among others, while several leading Chinese statistics are expected on Tuesday.

VALUES TO FOLLOW:

AT WALL STREET

The New York Stock Exchange ended lower on Friday, with several economic indicators calling for another Fed interest rate hike, which dampened investor enthusiasm after a string of strong quarterly results in the banking sector.

The Dow Jones index fell 0.42%, or 143.22 points, to 33,886.47 points, the S&P-500 lost 8.58 points, or 0.21%, to 4,137.64 points and the Nasdaq Composite fell 42.81 points (-0.35%) to 12,123.47 points.

Citigroup (+4.78%), JPMorgan (+7.55%) and Wells Fargo (-0.05%) posted better-than-expected results, benefiting from rising interest rates and allaying concerns about the banking system.

IN ASIA

The Nikkei in Tokyo climbed 0.09% for its seventh consecutive session of gains.

In China, the CSI 300 index rose 0.92% and the Shanghai SSE Composite 1.07%, the highest in nine months, in an optimistic market climate on the economy.

According to the Reuters consensus, China’s GDP, expected on Tuesday, rose 4% in the first quarter thanks to the end of health restrictions, which would mark the largest growth in a year.

EXCHANGES/RATES

After falling to its lowest level in a year, the “dollar index”, which measures the fluctuations of the greenback against a basket of currencies, recovers 0.11%, supported by the prospect of a rise in US rates in May.

Comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller on the need to continue raising borrowing costs to bring inflation back to 2% further bolstered the outlook for monetary tightening at the institution’s next meeting in two weeks.

The euro fell very slightly, below 1.1 dollar.

On the bond market, the yield on ten-year Treasuries was stable at 3.509%.

OIL

The oil market is stable pending the publication of a series of Chinese statistics on Tuesday.

Brent fell 0.03% to 86.28 dollars a barrel and US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) 0.05% to 82.48 dollars.

(Laetitia Volga, edited by Bertrand Boucey)

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