PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets fell on Wednesday morning, affected once again by the rise in bond yields amid fears of prolonged monetary tightening while several macroeconomic indicators, including PMIs, are expected in the daytime.

In Paris, the CAC 40 lost 0.4% to 6,968.95 points around 07:30 GMT. In London, the FTSE 100 lost 0.14% and in Frankfurt, the Dax lost 0.72%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index fell by 0.55% and the FTSEurofirst 300 by 0.29%. The Stoxx 600, which has been in the red since the start of the fourth quarter, fell again by 0.29%.

Futures contracts on Wall Street predict a decline of 0.36% for the Dow Jones, 0.52% for the Standard & Poor’s 500 and 0.60% for the Nasdaq the day after a session in sharp decline where the monthly Jolts survey on job offers in the United States has reinforced the hypothesis that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will remain restrictive for a long time.

In the eurozone, where Christine Lagarde has repeatedly reaffirmed that interest rates will remain high as long as the fight against inflation is not over, the market is awaiting an intervention from the President of the European Central Bank (ECB) in the day, during a conference on monetary policy.

On the bond market, the yield on the German Bund, the benchmark for the entire euro zone, rose above the 3% threshold for the first time since 2011, now standing at 3.002%.

In the United States, the rate on Treasuries of the same maturity is at a new 16-year peak, at 4.8503%.

In addition to concerns about the trajectory of rates, there are fears about the evolution of the economic situation when the indices of services activity in Europe and the United States will be published from 07:50 GMT, as well as monthly sales in detail in the euro zone.

On the stock market, all the main sectors of the Stoxx 600 are in the red, with the exception of the defensive “utilities” compartment, which is up 0.3%.

In health, Sanofi is practically unchanged, despite the announcement of a strategic partnership with the Israeli laboratory Teva on inflammatory bowel diseases.

Novartis gained 3.09% while its Sandoz division plunged 16.66% for its stock market debut.

Atos fell by 2.11% after the appointment of Yves Bernaert as general manager, while Kering fell by 1.94%, Bernstein having lowered his recommendation on the luxury group to “performance in line with the market”.

On the upside, Tesco gained 2.61% thanks to the increase in its annual profit forecast.

(Writing by Claude Chendjou, edited by Kate Entringer)

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