by Claude Chendjou
PARIS (Reuters) – Wall Street is expected to be slightly in the green at the opening on Wednesday and European stock markets are also progressing timidly at mid-session while awaiting monetary policy decisions from the American Federal Reserve in the evening. New York index futures signal Wall Street opening up 0.26% for the Dow Jones, 0.23% for the Standard & Poor’s 500 and 0.18% for the Nasdaq. In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.43% to 7,313.56 around 12:10 GMT. In Frankfurt, the Dax advances by 0.54% and in London, the FTSE gains 0.73%.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose by 0.6%, the Eurozone EuroStoxx 50 by 0.54% and the Stoxx 600 by 0.65%.
The positive trend on the markets is supported by the hope of a lull on rates from the Fed, which will publish a press release at 6:00 p.m. GMT at the end of two days of debates, followed by a press conference by its president , Jerome Powell.
Financial markets are counting with a 99% probability of a status quo on Fed rates this Wednesday and with a 69% probability of a new pause in November, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch barometer.
Gains, however, are limited by concerns about the long-term trajectory of interest rates and economic developments.
“The Fed’s updated projections should show an additional (rate) hike in 2023 and higher growth in 2023/2024,” predicts Gabriele Foà, portfolio manager at Algebris Investments.
The surprise slowdown in inflation in the United Kingdom in August (+6.7% year-on-year) also supports stock indices, with Goldman Sachs and some investors estimating that the Bank of England (BoE) should opt for a pause on Thursday in its rate increases. VALUES TO FOLLOW AT WALL STREET
VALUES IN EUROPE
Among the major sectors of the European stock market, energy (-0.81%) is the only one in the red, Brent oil returning from a ten-month high after approaching the threshold of 100 dollars per barrel in the fear of a supply deficit at the end of the year.
Luxury stocks LVMH (-0.04%), Kering (-0.64%) and Moncler (-0.03%) are slowing down the progression of the indices, with Jefferies having lowered its recommendation on the sector due to its exposure to China.
Société Générale rebounded by 3.22% after its sharp fall over two days, following the presentation of its 2026 strategic plan.
Commerzbank, which said it expected to generate net interest income of 8 billion euros this year, advanced 2.15%.
Just Eat Takeaway jumped 7.04% after a court ruling in the United States allowing delivery companies to challenge the cap on the amount they can charge restaurants.
CHANGES
The dollar fell (-0.08%) against a basket of reference currencies before the Fed’s announcements.
The euro is trading at 1.0696 dollars (+0.18%). The pound sterling advances to $1.237 after British inflation figures.
RATE
On the bond market, the yield on ten-year Treasuries, which hit a 16-year high of 4.367% on Tuesday, fell 2.4 basis points on Wednesday to 4.3487%.
That of the German Bund of the same maturity appears at 2.723%, also down by around two points.
OIL
Oil prices are losing ground after rising more than 30% in three months to reach a ten-month high amid fears of a supply deficit at the end of the year.
Brent fell 0.76% to $93.62 per barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) fell 0.84% to $90.43.
NO MORE ECONOMIC INDICATOR ON TODAY’S AGENDA
(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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I have over 8 years of experience working in the news industry. I have worked as a reporter, editor, and now managing editor at 247 News Agency. I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the news website and overseeing all of the content that is published. I also write a column for the website, covering mostly market news.
