by Blandine Henault

PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets are expected to open without much change on Wednesday while a new burst of corporate results promises to liven up the session before announcements on Thursday from the European Central Bank (ECB) .

According to the first available indications, the Parisian CAC 40 could gain 0.05% at opening. Futures contracts report an increase of 0.13% for the Dax in Frankfurt, 0.13% also for the FTSE in London and a gain of 0.07% for the Stoxx 600.

Investors are preparing to digest new corporate results, with the disappointing announcements from Kering the day before in Paris, the increase in forecasts from Michelin and the accounts from Dassault Systèmes and Air Liquide also expected in the morning.

On Wall Street, the results supported the trend on Tuesday and should continue to boost the stock, with “tech” giants Alphabet and Microsoft having published after the close.

VALUES TO FOLLOW:

Kering could be under pressure as the luxury group reported on Tuesday a more marked decline in its turnover than expected in the third quarter. The European technology sector could react to announcements from Alphabet, whose shares plunged in electronic transactions due to lower-than-expected quarterly turnover for its cloud computing division.

A WALL STREET

The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Tuesday as a wave of strong quarterly results and optimistic forecasts from S&P-500 companies fueled investors’ appetite for risk and lifted the major indexes into the green, at the day after a contrasting session.

The Dow Jones index gained 0.62% to 33,141.38 points. The S&P-500 gained 0.73%, to 4,247.68 points. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.93% to 13,139.88 points.

Futures contracts are currently signaling a slightly positive opening for the Dow Jones but in the red for the S&P 500 and especially the Nasdaq, which could suffer from Alphabet’s decline.

IN ASIA

The Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 1.2% as the close approached, following Wall Street’s gains.

Asian stock markets are also buoyed by reports from Chinese state media that the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress has approved the issuance of 1,000 billion yuan of sovereign bonds to support the economy.

The CSI 300 of mainland Chinese large caps gained 0.5% and the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index gained 0.51%.

EXCHANGES/RATES

The euro is trying to regain some color against the dollar after its sharp decline (-0.75%) the day before following the gloomy PMI indicators published in Europe.

The single currency gained 0.15% to 1.0603 dollars.

On the bond market, the trend is calm with virtual stability for the yield on ten-year Treasuries, at 4.8337%.

OIL

Crude prices remain under pressure after three consecutive days of decline, fears for demand in Europe where the economic situation is deteriorating supplanting concerns about supplies in the Middle East with the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

A barrel of Brent lost 0.15% to 87.94 dollars and that of American light crude (WTI) lost 0.21% to 83.56 dollars.

(Written by Blandine Hénault, edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse)

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