PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets are expected to fall on Friday at the opening, the resistance of the American economy rekindling fears of further rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
According to the first indications available, the Parisian CAC 40 would decline by 0.27% at the opening. Futures on the FTSE in London suggest a decline of 0.34%, compared to 0.38% for the Dax in Frankfurt and 0.26% for the EuroStoxx 50.
The US economy’s resistance to tighter monetary conditions is worrying investors because it could force the Fed to raise rates again to cool the economy and bring core inflation back to its 2% target.
Thursday’s publication of lower jobless claims in the United States – while the consensus was expecting an increase in the number of job seekers – fueled these concerns and prompted the markets to readjust their rate outlook.
Fed minutes released on Wednesday showed U.S. central bank officials remained concerned about lingering inflation, driven in particular by resilient labor markets, and that further monetary policy tightening may be warranted. to bring the price dynamics under control.
AT WALL STREET
The New York Stock Exchange ended lower on Thursday, worried about the resistance of the labor market, which could push key rates up.
The Dow Jones index fell 0.84%, or 290.91 points, to 34,474.83 points, the broader S&P 500 fell 33.97 points, or 0.77%, to 4,370.36 points, and the Nasdaq Composite fell for its part by 157.7 points (-1.17%) to 13,316.93 points.
IN ASIA
Japanese markets pull back after US data, while China’s lackluster economic outlook weighs on the region. The Nikkei lost 0.19% to 31,565.21 points, the Topix fell 0.92% to 2,232.26 points. Semiconductor-related stocks supported the Nikkei, Advantest and Tokyo Electron rising 1.35% and 0.64% respectively.
Chinese indexes continue to fall in the face of threats to the real estate sector in China as Evergrande, one of the largest developers in the country, has sought protection from American justice against its creditors. The Shanghai SSE Composite fell by 0.13%, the CSI 300 by 0.39% and the Hong Kong Hang Seng index by 1.18%.
CHANGES
Currency markets are hesitant after US data as profit-taking drags down the dollar, which has rallied strongly this week, buoyed by fears over rates, geopolitics and rising yields.
The dollar fell 0.23% against a basket of benchmark currencies, the euro nibbling 0.07% to 1.0879 dollars, while the pound sterling stagnated at 1.274 dollars.
In Asia, the yen strengthened by 0.30% to 145.39 yen per dollar, while the Australian dollar was down 0.09% to 0.6397 dollars.
RATE
US yields retreated after rising on Thursday, following the jobs data.
The ten-year Treasury yield fell 5.7 basis points to 4.2507%, while the two-year rate fell 3.6 bp to 4.9254%.
OIL
Crude is hesitating amid uncertain demand conditions, with resilience in the US economy potentially translating into higher rates.
Brent fell 0.10% to $84.04 a barrel, with US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) holding at $80.43.
(Written by Corentin Chapron)
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