(News Bulletin 247) – European markets are starting on a cautious note (-0.2% in London and Frankfurt, -0.3% in Paris) a last week of April which promises to be busy in terms of macroeconomic data , with a view to upcoming central bank meetings.

Operators will be attentive, among other things, to the ESI indices of economic sentiment from the European Commission, then to the first estimates of GDP for the euro zone, as well as for Germany and France, for the first quarter of 2023.

In the United States also certain statistics will be scrutinized by the markets, in particular the figures for economic growth for the first quarter, but also the PCE inflation index for March – particularly watched by the Fed.

All of its economic indicators should indeed be analyzed with a view to the monetary policy meetings of the ECB and the Federal Reserve, scheduled for next week, and the probable rate hikes that could be decided on this occasion.

‘The market now anticipates a rate hike of 25 basis points from the Fed, with a probability of 90%’, said Friday evening at ABN Amro Investment Solutions, after the publication of a US PMI index of good quality.

“A 50 basis point hike currently seems the most likely,” Capital Economics said of the ECB on Thursday, recalling that March inflation data suggested that price pressures remained very high in the euro zone.

For the time being, it should be noted that the Ifo index of the business climate in Germany rose from 93.2 in March to 93.6 in April, a level however below the consensus according to Capital Economics, which still forecasts that the economy will remain weak over the next few months.

In the news of the values, to start the numerous quarterly publications planned this week, the operators cheer that, largely superior to the expectations, of the group of medical electronics Philips (+10% in Amsterdam).

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