by Claude Chendjou

PARIS (Reuters) – European stock markets ended lower on Tuesday and on Wall Street two of the three indices were trading in the red at mid-session, as risk appetite was weighed down by several disappointing macroeconomic indicators in China, Europe and the United States. United States, uncertainties over the US debt ceiling, as well as Home Depot forecasts of consumer demand.

In Paris, the CAC 40 ended down 0.16% at 7,406.01 points. The British Footsie fell 0.34% and the German Dax 0.12%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index fell by 0.02%, the FTSEurofirst 300 by 0.40% and the Stoxx 600 by 0.42%.

At the close in Europe, the Dow Jones fell 0.64%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 0.27%, while the Nasdaq advanced 0.22%.

The deadlock in talks between Democrats and Republicans over the debt ceiling heightens fears of a US default as another meeting is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. GMT at the White House. Few observers, like Ipek Ozkardeskaya, an analyst at Swissquote Bank, believe in an immediate solution to the issue, while the US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, judges that the consequences of this file are already disastrous for the U.S. economy, according to statements prepared for an event in Washington.

Regarding the economic indicators of the day, retail sales in the United States in April recorded a weaker than expected increase of 0.4%, a sign that consumers are beginning to feel the effects of rising prices and interest rates. ‘interest.

Home Depot giant Home Depot on Tuesday lowered its forecast for annual sales and profit due precisely to a slowdown in demand, causing its share price to fall by 1.72% and that of retailers such as Walmart (-0 .65%), Macy’s (-1.43%) or Lowe’s (-1.42%).

In Europe, concerns about the economy were revived by a deterioration in German investor sentiment with a ZEW index at 10.7 in May, while the IMF said it expected moderate German GDP growth in the short term.

Prior to that, Chinese data had shown that industrial production (+5.6% yoy) and retail sales (+18.4%) came in below expectations.

VALUES

In Europe, much of the sector indexes ended in the red, with autos (-0.94%) and basic resources (-0.97%) particularly hurt by news from China.

In individual values, Bouygues (-3.71%) suffered the largest drop in the CAC 40 after its quarterly results, while Faurecia (+3.13%) benefited from a recommendation to “l” on the SBF 120. ‘purchase’ of Goldman Sachs.

In London, Vodafone plunged 7.44% after announcing a forecast of a decline in its cash flow this year, an announcement which took precedence over the plan to cut 11,000 jobs over three years. Its competitor Telecom Italia lost 2.24% in Milan due to doubts about the sale of its fixed network.

CHANGES

The dollar appreciated 0.18% against a basket of benchmark currencies after the retail sales figures.

The euro is displayed at 1.0865 dollars (-0.06%), while the pound sterling is trading at 1.2493 dollars (-0.27%).

RATE

The trend in government bond yields reversed after the US retail sales data: the German ten ended up around three basis points, at 2.34%, and its equivalent American took five points, to 3.56%.

OIL

The increase in the IEA’s forecast for global crude demand for this year is not enough to support oil prices, penalized by data from China: Brent fell 0.15% to 75.12 dollars a barrel and US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) 0.08% to 71.05 dollars.

(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Kate Entringer)

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