by Claude Chendjou

PARIS (Reuters) – European stock markets ended lower on Monday and Wall Street was in the red mid-session, as a wait-and-see attitude and caution dominated trading before the results of the American technology behemoths and the indicators of inflation and economic situation forecast for the week.

In Paris, the CAC 40 ended down 0.04% at 7,573.86 points but set a new session record at 7,581.26 points. The British Footsie fell by 0.02% and the German Dax by 0.11%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index lost 0.15%, the FTSEurofirst 300 0.04% and the Stoxx 600 0.01%.

Pending a salvo of corporate results in the United States and Europe expected this week, including those of Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Santander, Deutsche Bank, Nestle and Unilever, investors avoided any risk taking on Monday. , while the Stoxx 600 index closed a fifth consecutive weekly gain on Friday.

“There is a lot of uncertainty in the market,” noted Tim Ghriskey, strategist at Ingalls & Snyder. “There are a lot of big results this week and that’s causing a lot of traders to sit on the sidelines waiting for those results,” he added.

On the macroeconomic side this week, are expected in the United States the GDP figures for the first quarter, household income and expenditure in March as well as the PCE price index, the preferred measure of inflation by the American Federal Reserve (Fed) which meets on May 2 and 3.

In the euro zone, the data on the first estimate of economic growth in the first quarter will be known on Friday, while the Bundesbank showed itself on Monday to be slightly optimistic for the German economy for the first three months of the year. Inflation in Germany and France for the month of April will also be published on the same day.

VALUES IN EUROPE

In a relatively calm session in Europe, the luxury compartment stood out with LVMH (+0.09%) which on Monday became the first European group to exceed 500 billion dollars in market capitalization. Kering, which publishes its financial results on Tuesday, took 1.18%, Hermès 0.52% and Richemont 0.66%.

The Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský animated the exchanges by inviting himself in the Casino file (-1.62%) via a takeover proposal, concurrent with the proposed merger with Teract (+9.66%), while Intermarché, for its part, wants to buy several stores from the Saint-Etienne distributor.

Vivendi dropped 1.17% after its results and the announcement of the signing of a purchase agreement for the sale of Editis to a subsidiary of Daniel Křetínský.

On the SBF 120, Orpea fell 11.21%, the hope of a general meeting at the initiative of minority shareholders having been buried by the operator of retirement homes.

The quarterly results of Philips (+13.77%) were well received, unlike those of the Swedish Avanza (-9.42%), while the German software publisher Software AG (+49.02%) was driven by a $2.2 billion takeover bid from Silver Lake.

AT WALL STREET

At the time of the close in Europe, the Dow Jones fell by 0.19%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 by 0.31% and the Nasdaq by 0.83%.

Coca-Cola is in the green after reporting better-than-expected revenue and profit.

Of the 90 S&P-500 companies that have already reported results, 77% reported earnings above analysts’ expectations, according to IBES data from Refinitiv, compared with a long-term average of 66%.

Bed Bath & Beyond plunged 33.01%, the American distribution brand specializing in the sale of household items having placed itself under the protection of bankruptcy law.

CHANGES

The dollar is down 0.32% against a basket of benchmark currencies as a limited Fed rate hike of 25 basis points is expected next month.

The euro rose to 1.1028 dollars (+0.37%), with the markets not ruling out a rate hike of 50 basis points by the ECB next month. François Villeroy de Galhau, the Governor of the Banque de France, for his part, estimated that additional rate hikes could be necessary but limited.

RATES The ten-year German Bund yield ended almost unchanged at 2.517% and the two-year one rose 3.5 basis points to 2.95%, with the peak in ECB deposit rates now expected at 3 .8%.

In the United States, the yield on ten-year Treasuries fell around five basis points, to 3.5204%, and that of two years US2YT=RR> four points, to 4.14%.

OIL

Oil prices are rising on renewed supply concerns: Brent rises 1.13% to $82.58 a barrel and US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) 1.04% to $78.68 .

(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Kate Entringer)

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