by Claude Chendjou

PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets are expected on a cautious note at the opening on Thursday, as investors are likely to continue to digest the contrasting publications of companies.

According to the first indications available, the Parisian CAC 40 should lose 0.07% at the opening, the Dax in Frankfurt 0.16% and the FTSE 100 in London 0.14%. The EuroStoxx 50 index is expected to fall by 0.21%.

In the United States, after the positive kick-off given by the major Wall Street banks, the first results in new technologies, which fell on Wednesday evening, confirmed fears about the accounts of the second quarter of American companies. The Refinitiv consensus forecasts a 6.4% decline in earnings for S&P-500 companies over the April-June period.

IBM reported second-quarter revenue below expectations. At Tesla, quarterly gross margin fell to a four-year low, while Netflix disappointed in quarterly revenue. Shares of these three groups are falling in after-hours trading.

In Europe, where Publicis, Dassault Aviation and easyJet have published or are due to publish their accounts, profit for Stoxx 600 companies is expected to fall 9.2% year on year in the second quarter, according to Refinitiv data.

At the macroeconomic level, the publication at 12:30 GMT of the “Philly Fed” activity index for the month of July will provide new elements on the evolution of the American economy while the European Central Bank (ECB) and the American Federal Reserve (Fed) will hold their monetary policy meetings next week.

AT WALL STREET

The New York Stock Exchange ended slightly higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones ending in the green for an eighth consecutive session – a series not seen since September 2019 – as investors took note of a new wave of results.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.31%, or 109.28 points, to 35,061.21 points.

The broader S&P-500 gained 10.74 points, or 0.24%, to 4,565.72 points.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced for its part by 4.38 points (0.03%) to 14,358.02 points.

Already up the day before in the wake of the solid results of the major US banks, the banking sector again recorded gains. The S&P-500 banking index rose 1.70%, its third straight session up and the eighth in nine days.

Despite quarterly profit falling to a three-year low, Goldman Sachs ended in the green (+0.97%) after Chief Executive David Solomon spoke positively about the sector’s recovery, echoing comments from some of its peers on Tuesday.

Several regional banks, such as Citizens Financial and M&T Bank, rose after posting quarterly results that beat Wall Street expectations.

IN ASIA

On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei index fell 1.18% to 32,509 points and the broader Topix fell 0.73% to 2,262.4 points as the close approached.

The MSCI index comprising stocks from Asia and the Pacific (excluding Japan) rose 0.53%, heading for a rebound after three consecutive sessions in the red.

In China, the Shanghai SSE Composite lost 0.19%, while the CSI 300 gained 0.06%.

EXCHANGES/RATES

The dollar fell (-0.1%) against a basket of reference currencies, including the euro, which is trading at 1.1214 dollars (+0.14%).

The yield on ten-year US Treasuries was virtually flat, rising two basis points to 3.764%.

OIL

The oil market is generally stable after its rebound on Wednesday: Brent gained 0.01% to 79.45 dollars a barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) also 0.01% to 75.36 dollars.

(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Bertrand Boucey)

Copyright © 2023 Thomson Reuters