PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets, apart from Frankfurt, are on a downward trend on Wednesday morning in a context of risk aversion linked to the weakness of the latest macroeconomic indicators, concerns about the American debt ceiling and disappointing business results.

In Paris, the CAC 40 dropped 0.14% to 7,395.29 points around 07:40 GMT. In London, the FTSE 100 lost 0.17%. In Frankfurt, the Dax is resisting the downward trend by taking 0.32%, thanks in particular to Siemens and SAP.

The EuroStoxx 50 index fell by 0.01% and the FTSEurofirst 300 by 0.18%. The Stoxx 600 fell by 0.14%, penalized mainly by the financial compartment (-1.38%) and that of real estate (-1.14%).

Futures contracts on Wall Street foreshadow a slight rebound in the indices in the aftermath of a weaker session marked by disappointing forecasts from Home Depot and retail sales in the United States below expectations for the month of ‘april.

Uncertainties over the US debt ceiling continue to fuel investor caution, with President Joe Biden acknowledging that there is still work to be done, while Republican House of Representatives speaker Kevin McCarthy said the two sides were still a long way from an agreement, following a further meeting Tuesday at the White House.

In Europe, a new salvo of corporate results are driving trade, with Elior in Paris plunging 19.08%, the collective catering group having been cautious about its margin. Ubisoft, down 1.81%, is sanctioned after the biggest operating loss in its history. Vallourec stands out with a jump of 8.01%, the steelmaker having published a quarterly turnover up 46%.

The financial compartment, the biggest sectoral drop in the Stoxx 600, is driven by Euronext, which fell by 3.68%, the stock market operator having reported a turnover in the first quarter down.

The London Stock Exchange Group drops 4.27% as a consortium of investors including Blackstone and Thomson Reuters decided to sell around 2.7 billion pounds (3.09 billion euros) of shares in the stock market operator , according to Barclays.

Commerzbank fell 6.19%, due to a lower than expected net interest income forecast which overshadowed the announcement of a near doubling of quarterly net profit. The Polish subsidiary of the German bank also weighs.

UBS, which said on Wednesday estimating the financial impact of the takeover of Credit Suisse at around 17 billion dollars (15.64 billion euros) is in the red.

On the upside, the increase in SAP’s revenue forecast (+1.52%) for 2025 and the announcement of a share buyback plan are welcomed, while Siemens (+2.34% ), he is benefiting from the increase in his sales and profit forecasts for the whole of the year.

(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Blandine Hénault)

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