PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets fell on Thursday at the start of a session rich in company results, economic indicators and monetary policy decisions after the announcements of the American Federal Reserve and before that of the Bank of England (BoE).

After a positive month of January for stocks, investors seem to have opted for caution for the first session of the month.

In Paris, where the CAC 40 reached a historic peak at 7,702.95 points on Wednesday during the session, the index fell by 0.61% to 7,609.96 points around 08:35 GMT. In London, the FTSE 100 stood out by nibbling 0.05%, thanks to oil values. In Frankfurt, the Dax fell 0.25%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index lost 0.27% and the FTSEurofirst 300 0.17%. The Stoxx 600, which also set a record on Wednesday at 487.45 points, lost 0.06%.

Futures contracts on Wall Street predict a stable opening for the Dow Jones, a rebound of 0.28% for the Standard & Poor’s 500 and 0.58% for the Nasdaq the day after a close in the red against a backdrop of decline in technology stocks, in the wake of results notably from Alphabet.

Numerous publications, often mixed, still liven up discussions this Thursday, including BNP Paribas (-8.24%), Sanofi (-2.06%), Dassault Systèmes (-6.50%), Deutsche Bank (+3 .89%), Shell (+1.51%), Adidas (-8.11%) and Roche (-3.8%) in Europe, while in the United States, Apple, Amazon and Meta Platforms are expected after the close of Wall Street.

On the stock market in Europe, the energy compartment (+0.65%), driven by the good figures for manufacturing activity in China and the recovery measures in real estate, makes it possible to limit the downward trend on the Stoxx 600.

Market sentiment is also penalized by the comments of the President of the American Federal Reserve (Fed), Jerome Powell, who suggested on Wednesday that rates would not fall in March as expected by some traders, due to uncertainties over the inflation. Investors are now awaiting announcements from the Bank of England (BoE) at 12:00 GMT.

In Europe, where markets are currently pricing in a eurozone rate cut in May, the bloc’s first inflation estimate for January will be released at 10:00 GMT and could influence the rest of the session.

Indices of manufacturing activity in Europe and the United States are also expected.

(Writing by Claude Chendjou, edited by Kate Entringer)

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