by Diana Mandia

(Reuters) – Wall Street is expected to rise on Wednesday at the opening and the European stock markets are progressing at mid-session, supported by technology stocks after the good results from SAP and ASML as well as by the recovery measures announced by the Chinese central bank.

New York index futures signal Wall Street opening up 0.22% for the Dow Jones, 0.43% for the Standard & Poor’s-500 and 0.66% for the Nasdaq.

In Paris, the CAC 40 advanced 0.84% ​​to 7,450.07 around 11:44 GMT. In Frankfurt, the Dax gained 1.19% and in London, the FTSE gained 0.42%.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose by 0.99%, the Eurozone EuroStoxx 50 by 1.66% and the Stoxx 600 by 0.97%.

The trend remains positive in European markets after the publication of better-than-expected financial results for a number of technology companies, including ASML, a major supplier to semiconductor makers, and German software group SAP.

Investors also seem reassured by the Chinese central bank’s announcement to reduce banks’ reserve requirements from February 5, as Beijing continues its efforts to support the economy.

Turning to today’s indicators, preliminary PMIs for January showed that economic activity continued to contract in France and Germany, but the slowdown in the Eurozone had eased.

The Ifo institute on Wednesday again revised downwards its growth forecast for Germany in 2024 and now expects Europe’s largest economy to record an increase in gross domestic product of 0.7% in 2024, instead of 0.9% previously forecast in mid-December.

These indicators are all the more important as they are the latest data released ahead of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) monetary policy meeting on Thursday, which is expected to keep rates at their current levels as investors closely monitor any comment on possible prospects for relaxation.

VALUES TO FOLLOW AT WALL STREET

In New York, Netflix, the American streaming giant, rose 8.5% before the opening, after reporting on Tuesday a number of new subscribers in the fourth quarter that was significantly higher than Wall Street’s expectations.

VALUES IN EUROPE

ASML gained 6.8873% and led the tech sector in its wake, with an increase of 3.55%, leading the Stoxx 600 sectors.

SAP, which unveiled on Tuesday a restructuring program of two billion euros for 2024, takes 6%.

In Paris, Alstom lost 6.3% after reporting a turnover lower than expectations for its third quarter. He has not announced any major progress on his debt reduction plan, which worries investors.

Luxury groups, very exposed to China, notably LVMH and Kering, increased from 2.3% to 2.4%, while the basic resources index advanced by 1.76%, all supported by support measures. economic announcements by Beijing.

RATE

Eurozone bond yields fell on Wednesday after the Eurozone PMI.

The German ten-year yield thus lost more than 2 basis points to 2.326%, like that of the two-year rate, to 2.693%.

The US bond markets are also falling, with the ten-year bond market losing more than 3 basis points to 4.105%.

CHANGES

The dollar lost 0.45% against a basket of reference currencies, while the euro gained 0.43% to 1.0898 dollars after the publication of the PMI indicators.

OIL

Oil prices showed a small decline, shared between the impact of geopolitical tensions on supply and fears about global demand.

Brent rose 0.08% to $79.49 per barrel, with American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) increasing 0.04% to $74.4 CLc1.

(Written by Diana Mandiá)

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