by Claude Chendjou
PARIS (Reuters) – The European stock markets, apart from Frankfurt, ended down on Tuesday and on Wall Street two of the three indices were also in the red at the end of the morning in New York, investors having opted to take profits for the first session of 2024 after a euphoric end of the year.
In Paris, the CAC 40, which climbed 16.51% in 2023, ended Tuesday down 0.16% to 7,530.86 points. The British Footsie, which gained 3.78% in 2023, dropped 0.15%. The German Dax, which jumped 20.3% last year, gained 0.11%, thanks in particular to the defensive health segment.
The EuroStoxx 50 index fell by 0.2% and the FTSEurofirst 300 by 0.07%. The Stoxx 600 lost 0.11% after a gain of 12.74% over the whole of 2023.
In a volatile session, marked by low volumes and the absence of numerous investors in the wake of the end-of-year holidays, the indices in Europe alternated one foot in the green, another in the red, weighed down mainly by new technologies (-1.72%), chemistry (-0.45%) and distribution (-0.98%).
The positive trend of the morning faded with the publication of the PMI manufacturing activity indicators in Europe. For the eurozone as a whole, manufacturing activity contracted in December for the 18th month in a row, with the index at 44.4 in December after 44.2 in November, suggesting a recession in the fourth quarter.
VALUES IN EUROPE
ASML fell 2.55% after announcing that the Dutch government had partially revoked its export license for sending certain electronic chip manufacturing equipment to China.
The logistics groups Maersk (+6.38%), Hapag-Lloyd (+3.26%) and Frontline (+3.9182%) took advantage of the prospect of an increase in their freight rates against a backdrop of tensions in the Red Sea.
Monte dei Paschi climbed 6.14% after Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said in a newspaper interview that the Italian Treasury’s sale of its stake in the bank was proceeding successfully.
Valeo gained 1.68% after the announcement of the appointment of Edouard de Pirey as financial director.
A WALL STREET
At the close in Europe, the Dow Jones rose by 0.15%, but the Standard & Poor’s 500 fell by 0.40% and the Nasdaq by 1.23% against a backdrop of rising bond yields.
Apple lost 2.96%, Barclays having lowered its recommendation on the most valuable company in the world, saying it fears that demand for its devices, ranging from the iPhone to the Mac, will remain weak in 2024.
CHANGES
The dollar rises by 0.73% against a basket of reference currencies for the first session of the year while currency traders await employment figures in the United States and inflation in Europe.
The euro fell 0.81% to $1.0954 as investors digested PMI data.
RATE
The ten-year German Bund yield ended with a gain of 3.4 basis points, at 2.065% after a fall of 55 points over the whole of 2023, the sharpest drop since 2014, while financial markets are more skeptical about the extent of the rate reduction beyond 2024.
In the United States, the yield on ten-year Treasuries increased by 8.8 basis points, to 3.9331%, but remains far from its peak of more than 5% reached in October 2023.
OIL
Oil is volatile, with investors divided between the impact of economic turbulence and tensions in the Red Sea: Brent fell 1.06% to $76.22 per barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) by 1.33% to $70.70.
The two oil benchmarks gained more than 2% in morning trading.
(Writing by Claude Chendjou, edited by Kate Entringer)
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