PARIS (Reuters) – European stock markets ended scattered on Tuesday after an inflation indicator in the United States rebounded slightly, and before the Federal Reserve’s next monetary policy decision on Wednesday.

In Paris, the CAC 40 lost 0.11% to 7,543.55 points after hitting a historic record during the session, while the German Dax finished virtually unchanged, after hitting a new high. The British Footsie finished without a marked direction.

The EuroStoxx 50 index ended the session down 0.05%, compared to 0.19% for the FTSEurofirst 300 and 0.23% for the Stoxx 600.

CPI inflation for November in the United States surprised slightly upwards, increasing by 0.1% over one month against a stable indicator expected by the consensus.

Inflation in services, in particular, remains significant.

“Prices of services were more stable than expected, increasing by 0.5% over one month: housing prices increased by 0.4% over one month, while (…) rents remained firm at 0.5% over one month”, details BofA which estimates that the disinflation process is destined to slow down next year.

The indicator follows an unemployment figure for November, published on Friday, which also surprised on the upside, and which shows that tensions in the labor markets continue despite the rate increases.

The data feed makes the Fed’s task easier: The central bank is not expected to raise rates again during its next meeting, which concludes at 19:00 GMT on Wednesday, but the new data indicates that a rate cut is still distant and eliminate the risk of the decision being interpreted as accommodating.

The markets should therefore go along with the comments of Fed President Jerome Powell, who is expected to deliver a restrictive speech on Wednesday evening.

OIL

Crude prices are falling after US inflation which keeps the Fed from rate cuts, and after the attack on an oil tanker in the Red Sea.

Brent declined 3.64% to $73.26 per barrel, American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) dropped 3.74% to $68.65, and could hit its lowest level since July.

VALUES

Renault fell 1.01%, at the bottom of the CAC 40, after announcing on Tuesday a plan to sell a 5% tranche of its 28.4% stake held in its partner Nissan, an operation which will have an impact up to 1.5 billion euros on its net profit.

Carl Zeiss jumped 6.53%, the German medical technology group having published an increasing annual turnover and a more optimistic outlook.

Novo Nordisk fell 1.23%, trailing the Stoxx 50, after a study published Monday showed that patients treated with Eli Lilly’s weight-loss drug, which is based on a molecule similar to that of the star treatments of Novo Nordisk Wegovy and Ozempic, regained a lot of weight almost a year after stopping treatment.

Hargreaves Lansdown lost 6.67% after the UK’s markets watchdog raised concerns about interest and fees charged by some investment platforms.

A WALL STREET

At closing time in Europe, trading on the New York Stock Exchange indicated an increase of 0.37% for the Dow Jones, compared to 0.12% for the Standard & Poor’s 500 and 0.23% for the Nasdaq. Composite.

RATE

Long yields are falling in Europe after the publication of a wage indicator in Great Britain having reached its lowest level in almost two years.

At the close of the rate markets in Europe, the ten-year Treasury yield fell 1.7 bp to 4.2217%, compared to 1 bp for the two-year rate, to 4.7182%.

The German ten-year yield fell 3.1 bps to 2.233%, while the two-year yield rose 2.2 bps to 2.724%.

CHANGES

The dollar is falling in a wait-and-see context before the Fed’s decision.

The dollar lost 0.22% against a basket of reference currencies, while the euro gained 0.23% to 1.0786 dollars. The pound sterling fell 0.06% to $1.2545.

(Written by Corentin Chappron, edited by Kate Entringer)

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