(Reuters) – Wall Street is expected to be in balance and the European stock markets are progressing mid-session on Wednesday, driven by a rebound in technology stocks in the United States the day before and while optimism remains high at the prospect of a reduction in American interest rates from March. New York index futures signal Wall Street opening down 0.01% for the Dow Jones, 0.03% for the Standard & Poor’s-500 and up 0.01% for the Nasdaq. In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.2% to 7,583.83 points around 11:20 GMT. In Frankfurt, the Dax gained 0.22% and in London, the FTSE 0.58%.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index increased by 0.24%, the Eurozone EuroStoxx 50 by 0.28% and the Stoxx 600 gained 0.28%.

Global markets have rallied since mid-December after the Fed hinted it would cut interest rates next year. Perspectives which were, however, not shared by the European Central Bank (ECB).

“Pricing for the ECB’s first cut in March or April 2024 has been relatively consistent, but the gap to the Fed is no longer considered significant,” according to Geoff Yu, analyst at BNY Mellon.

“There is also very little difference between the reaction of policymakers at the ECB and the Fed against current prices, although, given the labor market situation on the ground, we believe that the Fed’s warnings are more credible,” he added.

The basic resources index posted the biggest rise at 0.8%, as prices of most metals and iron ore rose after data showed manufacturing activity in China, the main consumer, improved last month. VALUES TO FOLLOW AT WALL STREET

Coherus Biosciences takes 34.4% in pre-market trading after the Food and Drug Administration approves its drug delivery device.

Bitcoin miner Bit Digital rose 6.4% before the opening, after announcing plans to double its fleet of cryptocurrency mining computers.

VALUES IN EUROPE

Shipping groups Maersk and Hapag Lloyd fall 4.81% and 5.02% respectively, with analysts pointing out that the expected resumption of transit via the Suez Canal could lead to a correction in freight rates.

Their Scandinavian competitors Frontline, Hoegh Autoliners, Wallenius Wilhelmsen and Hafnia fell from 2.87% to 5.08% at 12:20 GMT.

RATES Euro zone bond yields fell to their lowest level in several months as investors, returning after the Christmas break, bet on a sharp fall in interest rates next year.

“What is currently dominating the market is obviously that disinflation is underway and the market is expecting further reductions,” says Emmanouil Karimalis, analyst at UBS. “This sentiment is very positive for bonds,” he adds.

The ten-year German Bund yield lost 4.2 basis points to 1.926%.

In the United States, the yield on Treasury bills of the same maturity lost 1.4 basis points to 3.8723%.

CHANGES

The dollar fell to a five-month low on Wednesday while the euro hit a four-month high, driven by expectations of a Fed interest rate cut, but trading flows end of year have limited movements.

The dollar fell 0.03% against a basket of reference currencies, while the euro gained 0.07% to $1.105.

OIL

The oil market stabilized on Wednesday after strong increases the day before. Investors are indeed monitoring developments in the Red Sea as certain container ships have resumed passage through this trade route.

Brent dropped 0.56% to $80.62 per barrel, with American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) losing 0.7% to $75.04.

(Some data may have a slight lag)

(Writing by Augustin Turpin, edited by Kate Entringer)

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