by Claude Chendjou

PARIS (Reuters) – European stock markets ended in the green on Tuesday, supported in particular by macroeconomic data from China, while Wall Street was oriented in the red at the end of the morning in New York, weighed down by the results deemed disappointing from Goldman Sachs and the risk of a recession in the United States.

In Paris, the CAC 40 ended with a gain of 0.47% to 7,533.63 points after a new session record at 7,559.35 points. Britain’s Footsie gained 0.38% and Germany’s Dax advanced 0.59%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index rose by 0.6%, the FTSEurofirst 300 by 0.4%. The Stoxx 600, near a 14-month high, gained 0.38%.

Data from China showed the economy grew 4.5% year on year in the first quarter, a pace above expectations, thanks to the end of COVID-19 restrictions, while, in March, industrial production increased by 3.9% and retail sales by 10.6%.

“It’s a good surprise and overall it’s a good set of numbers, albeit uneven, and that’s reflected in the market response,” said David Chao, market strategist at Invesco.

AT WALL STREET

At the time of the close in Europe, the Dow Jones retreated by 0.21%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 by 0.09% and the Nasdaq by 0.16%.

St. Louis Federal Reserve Chairman James Bullard said the U.S. central bank needed to keep raising interest rates amid lingering inflation as the broader economy looks set to continue to grow. grow, even in slow motion. He estimates that the cost of credit could reach 5.50%-5.75% in the United States, while a rise of 25 basis points is expected in May.

In corporate news, Goldman Sachs on Tuesday reported a 19% drop in first-quarter profit, amid slowing M&A activity and disappointment in bond markets. Goldman Sachs shares fell 1.64%, while Bank of America Corp (BofA) lost 0.69% despite higher and better-than-expected first-quarter earnings. The banking index fell by 0.12%.

Johnson & Johnson lost 2.71% despite raising its annual profit forecast while Netflix (-0.28%) was in the red before the publication in the evening of its quarterly accounts.

VALUES IN EUROPE

In Europe, the increase was led mainly by the transport and leisure sector (+2.13%) in the wake of the rebound of the Chinese economy.

The banking (+1.28%), new technologies (+0.91%), basic resources (+1.44%) compartments were also sought after.

In Paris, Societe Generale (+2.11%), BNP Paribas (+2.09%), Capgemini (+2.05%) and Vivendi (+6.32%) finished at the top of the CAC 40.

The Bolloré group, which entered into exclusive negotiations with CMA CGM for the sale of Bolloré Logistics, jumped 5.27%, while Lagardère, driven by an increase in its quarterly turnover, ended with a gain of 1.48%.

On the SBF 120, Orpea shares rose 9.29% after jumping more than 13% on Monday in response to reports that a group of minority shareholders are calling for a general meeting.

Elsewhere in Europe, EasyJet, optimistic about its annual profit forecast, gained 1.61%, while Ericsson’s forecast, deemed disappointing, caused the stock to plunge by 8.59%.

THE INDICATORS OF THE DAY

Investor sentiment in Germany unexpectedly deteriorated in April with the ZEW index at 4.1 after 13.0 in March.

Housing starts and building permits fell in March in the United States in a real estate market affected by the rise in interest rates.

CHANGES

The dollar lost 0.26% against a basket of currencies after better than expected Chinese indicators.

The euro is trading at 1.0956 dollars (+0.27%) after two consecutive sessions of decline of more than 0.5%.

The pound is at 1.24195 dollars (+0.34%), supported by the prospect of another interest rate hike by the Bank of England in May after the acceleration of wage growth in the UK over the three months to February.

RATE

The ten-year German Bund yield ended almost flat at 2.47% after hitting an intraday high since March 15 at 2.5%, as investors anticipate further rate hikes from the European Central Bank (ECB). ).

Its American equivalent of the same maturity is also almost unchanged, at 3.5813%.

OIL

Oil prices rose slightly as investors were torn between encouraging data from China and the risk of recession in the United States.

At the close of trading in Europe, Brent rose 0.45% to 85.14 dollars a barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) 0.56% to 81.28 dollars.

(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Bertrand Boucey)

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