PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets were in the green on Wednesday morning, driven by the real estate sector and some good company results, in uneventful trading on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. United.

In Paris, the CAC 40 rose 0.53% to 7,267.78 points around 09:00 GMT. In London, the FTSE 100 advanced by 0.22% and in Frankfurt, the Dax gained 0.39%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index increased by 0.40%, the FTSEurofirst 300 by 0.33% and the Stoxx 600 by 0.47%.

Futures contracts on Wall Street predict an almost stable opening for the Dow Jones and the Standard & Poor’s 500, while the Nasdaq could fall by 0.17%, while the American markets will be closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving and the Friday session will be shortened. .

Trading has been relatively calm since the start of the week, with equity markets in Europe at two-month highs, while in the United States the S&P-500 and the Nasdaq have lined up five consecutive sessions in the green before ending Tuesday in the red.

The minutes of the latest meeting of the US Federal Reserve (Fed), published Tuesday evening, show that central bank officials agreed that further rate hikes would be necessary only “if” data suggested insufficient progress against the inflation, gave rise to no surprises. In fact, the majority of analysts are still betting on a rate cut by the major central banks next year.

Barclays said on Wednesday that it no longer anticipates a 25 basis point increase in the cost of credit in January in the United States and estimates that the Fed’s federal funds rate will be reduced to 5.00%-5.25% by end of 2024 and 4.00%-4.25% by end of 2025 compared to a current range of 5.25%-5.50%.

On the stock market in Europe, the positive trend is led by the real estate sector (+1.06%) and the media sector (+0.62%).

In individual values, in Paris Elior jumped 9.07% after announcing a return to profitability since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, while Interparfums jumped 4.78%, the group anticipating a figure of Business for this year up 12%-13%.

Casino lost 1.09% after lowering its annual profit target for France for the second time in a month.

Elsewhere in Europe, Thyssenkrupp climbed 5.89%, the German group having reported “solid” free cash flow, which amounted to 363 million euros for the 2022-2023 financial year.

Kingfisher, the owner of the Castorama and Brico Dépôt brands, fell 5.98% after lowering its annual profit forecast for the second time in three months.

The British software publisher Sage soars by 10.40%, at the top of the Stoxx 600, thanks to an 18% jump in its annual operating profit.

(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Blandine Hénault)

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