by Blandine Henault

PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets are expected to be on a cautious note at the opening on Tuesday, in a context still dominated by uncertainty over tensions in the Middle East and ahead of numerous economic indicators which should give clues as to the future trajectory of interest rates.

According to the first available indications, the Parisian CAC 40 could lose 0.12% at the opening. Futures contracts signal stability for the Dax in Frankfurt, a decline of 0.11% for the FTSE in London and a decline of 0.12% for the Stoxx 600.

Investors will be attentive in the morning to the publication of the “flash” PMI indices in Europe, considered to be good indicators of economic activity and which should signal a contraction for the month of October.

These data will come two days before a monetary policy meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB) and as the publication season of corporate results accelerates.

VALUES TO FOLLOW:

The results of Orange and Hermès are expected before the opening as well as those of Barclays, among others.

A WALL STREET

The New York Stock Exchange ended mixed on Monday, as bond yields fell and investors prepared for a week full of quarterly results, with about a third of the companies in the S&P-500, and the publication of data highly anticipated economic benefits.

The Dow Jones index lost 0.58% to 32,936.41 points. The broader S&P-500 lost 0.17%, to 4,217.04 points. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.27% to 13,018.33 points.

Futures contracts on the three indices are currently reporting an increase of between 0.2% and 0.4% at the opening.

IN ASIA

The Tokyo Stock Exchange increased by 0.25% as the close approached but was held back by the plunge of the automobile manufacturer Nidec (-10.39%) which left its annual forecast unchanged despite an increase in its quarterly results.

In China, the stock markets remain under pressure: the CSI 300 index fell by 0.17% and the Hong Kong HSI lost 0.84%.

RATES/EXCHANGES

The yield on ten-year Treasuries is almost unchanged, at 4.8462%, after the decline recorded at the end of the day on Monday following a peak above 5%.

On the foreign exchange side, the dollar is moving little while awaiting the American economic indicators expected in the coming days: Q3 GDP on Thursday and inflation on Friday.

The euro is moving slightly higher, to 1.0676 dollars.

For its part, bitcoin jumped 3.86% to $34,350, reaching a high of almost 18 months after already soaring 10% on Monday on speculation concerning the imminent launch of an ETF fund holding bitcoin.

OIL

Crude prices are increasing and regaining some of the ground lost the day before, investors remain nervous about the implications of the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East.

A barrel of Brent from the North Sea gained 0.36% to $90.15 and that of American light crude (WTI) gained 0.3% to $85.77.

(Written by Blandine Hénault, edited by Bertrand Boucey)

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