(Reuters) – European stocks ended slightly lower on Monday as optimism sparked over the weekend by an agreement in principle on the U.S. debt ceiling gradually faded in session.
In Paris, the CAC 40, which had taken up 0.5% at the start of the day, ended down 0.21% at 7,303.81 points while the German Dax lost 0.2%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index and the Stoxx 600 both fell 0.11%.
In Madrid, the Ibex index dropped 0.12% as Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced the holding of early legislative elections in July, while the left suffered major setbacks in regional elections on Sunday.
However, the session was quiet due to the closing of the markets in the United Kingdom for the ‘Spring Bank Holiday’ and in the United States for the ‘Memorial Day’.
In New York, index futures were up 0.34% for the Dow Jones, 0.31% for the Standard & Poor’s-500 and 0.35% for the Nasdaq.
US President Joe Biden and House of Representatives speaker Kevin McCarthy reached an agreement in principle over the weekend to temporarily suspend the federal government’s debt ceiling.
This compromise, which has yet to be approved by both houses of a divided Congress, should provide only short-term relief, however, as inflation concerns and the Federal Reserve’s (Fed ) persist.
Data released on Friday showing an acceleration in PCE inflation – the Fed’s key indicator of rising prices – fueled concerns and speculation that the US central bank will hold rates high longer than expected. anticipated.
VALUES
Swedish real estate group SBB gained 2.62% after announcing an extension of its ongoing strategic review, including a potential sale of the company, business segments or assets.
The Spanish bank BBVA for its part fell by 1.2% after the unexpected announcement of early elections in Spain and the new electoral victory of Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey.
In Paris, the Orpea group dropped 2.5% when it announced on Friday that the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) granted an exemption to the grouping led by the Caisse des dépôts (CDC) with MACSF, CNP Assurances and Maif to acquire more than 30% of the company’s capital without having to file a takeover bid.
CHANGES
The euro fell slightly against the dollar and traded at 1.0712, while the greenback was virtually unchanged (+0.05%) against a basket of benchmark currencies
In Turkey, the lira fell to a record low on Monday to stand at 20.10 to the dollar following the election victory of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who won a new five-year presidential term.
“An Erdogan victory brings no comfort to foreign investors,” said Hasnain Malik, head of equity research at Tellimer.
RATE
In the bond market, European government bond yields fell sharply following the US debt ceiling agreement, although investors remain cautious ahead of Thursday’s first inflation estimate of the euro area in May.
The benchmark ten-year German Bund yield fell 10 basis points to 2.43%.
“While we are more confident that the peak of core (eurozone) goods inflation is behind us, we now expect a slower moderation from there,” Ruben Segura-Cayuela said in a note. , European economist at BofA.
OIL
In the oil market, prices also retreated as concerns over interest rates and reduced energy demand outweighed the US debt ceiling agreement.
Brent LCOc1 fell 0.43% to $76.62 a barrel and US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) CLc1 0.19% to $72.53.
(Written by Diana Mandiá, edited by Jean Terzian)
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