PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets are expected to rise slightly on Tuesday at the opening, as investors await more clarity on the path of rates in developed economies.

Initiatives could remain limited on the markets, the day being a holiday in the United States for Independence Day.

The first indications available give the CAC 40 in Paris and the FTSE in London stable, while the Dax in Frankfurt rose by 0.17% and the EuroStoxx 50 by 0.11%. The latest leading indicators published in the United States temper the picture of a resilient economy, with the manufacturing sector in sharp contraction.

Investors are all the more worried about a slowdown in the US economy as the Federal Reserve could raise its rates twice more this year, a scenario that is not yet well priced in by the markets.

The indicators expected this week, including the “minutes” of the Fed (Wednesday) and the figures on US employment (Friday), could help to clarify the economic situation.

“Central bankers (…) all seem (are) concerned about the surprising persistence of inflation and the key rates should therefore remain higher for (much) longer”, warns César Perez Ruiz, head of investments at Pictet Wealth Management in a note.

VALUES TO FOLLOW:

AT WALL STREET

The New York Stock Exchange ended up slightly on Monday after a shortened session on the eve of the celebration in the United States of the national holiday.

The Dow Jones index gained 0.03%, or 10.87 points, to 34,418.47 points, the Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 5.21 points, or 0.12% to 4,455.59 points and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 28.85 points (0.21%) to 13,816.77 points.

In values, Tesla jumped 6.90% after reporting record sales in the second quarter.

The big Wall Street banks, including JPMorgan, Citi and Goldman Sachs, rose from 0.8% to 1.7% after raising their dividends and successfully passing the Federal Reserve’s annual “stress test”. The S&P-500 sector index gained 1.5%.

IN ASIA

The Nikkei in Tokyo fell 0.86%, under the effect of profit taking after the peak of 33 years reached the day before.

The biggest drop in the index, the Daiichi Sankyo laboratory fell by 14.13% after the disappointing results of a clinical trial on an experimental cancer drug designed jointly with AstraZeneca.

For their part, the Chinese stock markets show a modest increase, with the hope of a boost from Beijing to the economy.

CHANGES

The Australian dollar fell 0.37% against the greenback in reaction to the decision of the Reserve Bank of Australia to maintain its key rate at 4.10% in order to measure the impact of past increases since May 2022.

Against a basket of major currencies, the US dollar is stable. The euro lost about 0.1% to 1.0897 dollars.

OIL

On the oil market, prices are up slightly after the announcement by Saudi Arabia and Russia of a further drop in production in August.

Brent rose 0.52% to 75.04 dollars a barrel and US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) 0.56% to 70.18 dollars.

NO MAJOR ECONOMIC INDICATOR ON THE AGENDA FOR JULY 4

(Corentin Chapron and Laetitia Volga, edited by Bertrand Boucey)

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