by Claude Chendjou

PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets ended with slight variations on Wednesday and Wall Street was up slightly at mid-session in half-hearted trading while awaiting the publication of inflation figures in the United States and the first results American banks.

In Paris, the CAC 40 ended down 0.01% at 7,426.08 points. The German Dax gained 0.01%. The British Footsie, more penalized by stocks linked to raw materials, fell by 0.42%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index gained 0.04%, while the FTSEurofirst 300 fell by 0.14% and the Stoxx 600 by 0.18%.

Equity markets in Europe were particularly affected by a marked drop in the basic resources compartment (-1.06%), in the wake of the decline in metals and concerns about the economic situation.

Two officials from the European Central Bank (ECB), Isabel Schnabel and Luis de Guindos, estimated on Wednesday that the euro zone economy had hit rock bottom and that the outlook remained weak without calling into question the ECB’s forecasts. in favor of maintaining interest rates at their current level for a prolonged period.

The market predicts with a probability of 40% a reduction in ECB rates from March, a change that many officials of the institution still consider premature.

In the United States, where investors are already positioning themselves on a slowdown in inflationary pressures and also a reduction in rates from the American Federal Reserve in March, the publication on Thursday of monthly consumer price figures (CPI) is particularly awaited.

“Everyone is waiting for tomorrow’s (Thursday) CPI, which should trigger the next wave of Fed comments. So I view the moves in Treasuries as pre-CPI positioning,” said Will Compernolle, strategist macroeconomic at FHN Financial, referring to the slight decline in ten-year and two-year bond yields during the session.

A WALL STREET

At the close in Europe, the Dow Jones advanced by 0.1%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 by 0.18% and the Nasdaq by 0.33%. The S&P-500 and the Nasdaq hit nearly two-week highs during the session.

New technology stocks, such as Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Meta Platforms, sensitive to fluctuations in interest rates, gain from 0.56% to 3.67%.

Nvidia advances by 1.91% in the wake of TSMC’s publication of a quarterly turnover higher than expectations.

The major American banks JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo are on a downward trend as they are due to kick off the fourth quarter results season in the United States on Friday.

VALUES IN EUROPE

In Paris, Sodexo finished in the green (+0.83%) after announcing that its Pluxee division forecast double-digit annual organic growth until 2026.

In London, Sainsbury plunged 6.34% as the supermarket chain failed to raise its annual profit forecast despite strong demand for its high-end products during the quarter including the Christmas holidays.

In Milan, Campari fell 6.53% after a private placement intended to finance the acquisition of French cognac producer Courvoisier.

In Stockhlom, Skanska (-1.22%) suffered from the announcement of asset write-downs in real estate in the United States.

CHANGES

The dollar fell by 0.10% against the main international currencies, including the euro which traded at 1.0957 dollars (+0.24%) and the pound sterling at 1.2726 dollars (+0.17%) .

Among cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell to $45,310, the SEC having announced that it had been the victim of a false message on its X account which caused bitcoin to briefly rise to a 21-month peak at $47,897.

RATE

The ten-year German Bund yield, volatile during the session, ended up 2.3 basis points, at 2.212%, and the two-year yield rose 4.3 points, to 2.651%.

Bond yields in the region, however, lost around 80 basis points between November and December, which puts the increase of around 15 points since January into perspective.

In the United States, the yield on two-year US Treasury bonds fell a little more than two basis points, to 4.3518%, and the ten-year yield was almost stable, at 4.0151% after falling during the session. , below the 4% mark, at 3.979%.

OIL

Oil prices fall, figures from the EIA, the US Energy Information Administration, showing crude stocks rising by 1.3 million barrels to 432.4 million in the United States last week .

Brent fell 0.08% to $77.53 per barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) lost 0.10% to $72.31.

TO BE CONTINUED THURSDAY:

Publication at 1:30 p.m. GMT of CPI inflation figures for the month of December in the USA

(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse)

Copyright © 2024 Thomson Reuters