PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets are expected to hesitate on Friday at the opening, after encouraging data on inflation on both sides of the Atlantic and before the publication of key indicators on the labor market in the United States. United.
Futures contracts suggest an opening up 0.21% for the Paris CAC 40, against a stable opening for the FTSE in London, the Dax in Frankfurt, and the EuroStoxx 50. The first estimates of European inflation have showed a bigger than expected drop in core inflation in August, despite a rebound in headline inflation, which reassured investors that European price momentum was slowing.
“A number of indicators confirm that core inflation has peaked,” Barclays economists note.
“Adjusted average, weighted median and supercore inflation have steadily decelerated over the past few months, and our diffusion indices confirm that disinflationary momentum has spread across the entire consumption basket.”
In fact, derivatives markets, admittedly volatile, consider it 80% likely that the European Central Bank will maintain its rates on September 14, the date of its next monetary policy meeting. This probability only reached 60% on Thursday before the release of inflation data.
Moreover, the US PCE indicator on price dynamics, one of the Federal Reserve’s favorite inflation indicators, showed that inflation continued to decline across the Atlantic.
However, the mood remains cautious as the Labor Office’s monthly US employment report is due at 12:30 GMT, and will be decisive for the Fed’s next rate decision.
Supporting sentiment in Europe, Beijing announced several targeted measures aimed at limiting the depreciation of the yuan and supporting real estate markets, while Chinese manufacturing activity unexpectedly rebounded in August.
AT WALL STREET
The New York Stock Exchange ended in disarray on Thursday, after the release of inflation data broadly in line with expectations, without calling into question the assumption of a status quo on Fed rates in September.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.48%, or 168.33 points, to 34,721.91 points, the broader S&P-500 fell 7.21 points, or 0.16%, to 4,507.66 points. and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC advanced 15.66 points (0.11%) to 14,034.969 points.
IN ASIA
Japanese markets ended higher, supported by banking stocks and a resumption of purchases of Japanese securities by foreign investors. The Nikkei index gained 0.28% to 32,710.62 points and the Topix, broader, took 0.75% to 2,349.54 points, touching on the session a high for 33 years.
Games and audio equipment maker Sony Group jumped 3.21% and lifted the Topix, followed by banking group Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group which rose 1.68%.
The Chinese indices rose after the measures announced by Beijing, which notably relaxed the conditions for access to mortgage loans to support the real estate sector. The SSE Composite of Shanghai nibbles 0.35%, the CSI 300 0.58%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is closed for the day as Typhoon Saola approaches.
CHANGES
Currency markets hesitate ahead of key US jobs data. The dollar was stable against a basket of benchmark currencies, with the euro holding at $1.0838, while the pound sterling fell 0.13% to $1.2657. In Asia, the yen is flat at 145.56 yen to the dollar, while the Australian dollar lost 0.34% to $0.6461.
RATE
US yields are stable in a wait-and-see environment.
The ten-year Treasury yield rose 2.5 basis points to 4.1161%, while the two-year rate held steady at 4.8681%.
The ten-year German yield was flat at 2.476%, while that of the two-year rate lost 1.3 bp to 2.969%.
OIL
Chinese announcements are supporting crude, with markets also expecting continued OPEC production cuts through the end of the year.
Brent rose 0.32% to 87.11 dollars a barrel, US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) gaining 0.26% to 83.85 dollars.
(edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse and Kate Entringer)
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