PARIS (Reuters) – Wall Street is expected to be hesitant at the opening on Thursday, while European stock markets appear dispersed at mid-session, investors digesting the latest monetary policy meeting of the Federal Reserve, as well as a salvo of results.

Futures on New York indices suggest a mixed opening on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones showing stable, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 takes 0.34% and the Nasdaq 0.56%.

In Paris, the CAC 40 fell 0.79% to 7,595.96 points around 11:21 GMT. The Dax in Frankfurt lost 0.16%, compared to an increase of 0.51% for the FTSE in London, supported by good results from Shell.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index did not show any marked direction, with the EuroStoxx 50 falling by 0.2% and the Stoxx 600 by 0.14%.

The Fed kept rates at their current levels on Wednesday, but the central bank dashed hopes of an upcoming rate cut.

“Based on our meeting (on Wednesday), I don’t think we will have enough certainty about inflation to lower rates in March,” insisted Jerome Powell, the president of the institution.

However, markets continue to bet on 142 basis points of monetary easing this year.

Investors are also reacting to a burst of results on Thursday in Europe, including those of Shell and BNP Paribas, while preparing for the publication of figures from three of the “magnificent seven”, the most important American technology groups in the world.

The Bank of England (BOE) monetary policy meeting, which will start at 12:00 GMT, will help to liven up the markets, while the ISM manufacturing in the United States, published at 15:00 GMT, will give more indications on the economic trajectory across the Atlantic.

VALUES TO FOLLOW IN WALL STREET

Qualcomm on Wednesday forecast profit slightly above Wall Street estimates for the fiscal second quarter and revenue in line with market expectations, as a new line of chips linked to artificial intelligence supports the group.

Apple, Amazon, and Meta Platforms will publish their quarterly accounts after Wall Street closes.

VALUES TO FOLLOW IN EUROPE

BNP Paribas fell 8.03% after reporting lower than expected results in the fourth quarter, due to a series of exceptional charges and a weakening of activities linked to consumer credit and commercial real estate, leading the first French bank to revise downwards some of its objectives for 2025.

Sanofi confirmed Thursday that it is targeting a decline in its net income per share (EPS) from its activities in 2024 due to the expected increase in its tax rate, after a performance in line with its expectations last year, which brings down the title by 2.06%.

Dassault Systèmes announced on Thursday that it was aiming for an increase in its turnover in 2024 of between 8% and 10%, at constant exchange rate, an objective lower than analysts’ expectations, which caused the stock to fall by 11.07%.

Pluxee, the former employee benefits division of Sodexo, made its debut on the Paris Stock Exchange on Thursday, rising 7.10% and exceeding the technical reference price set the day before.

Shell on Thursday reported a profit of $28 billion (25.9 billion euros) for 2023, a drop of 30% compared to the previous year’s record, linked to the drop in oil prices and gas. The title takes 3.11%.

Deutsche Bank posted a 30% drop in fourth-quarter profit as restructuring costs and other one-off expenses outweighed revenue gains, but the fall was not as big as analysts had predicted. feared, which pushed the title up 4.04%.

Adidas fell 5.68% after reporting forecasts significantly lower than analysts’ expectations for 2024, under the effect of the latest stock sales of the Yeezy brand.

RATE

European yields rebound after an inflation indicator in the euro zone excluding alcohol, tobacco, food and energy slightly above consensus.

The yield on the ten-year Treasury lost 2.3 bps to 3.9424%, while the two-year was stable at 4.2333%.

The German ten-year yield strengthened by 4.1 bp to 2.202%, that of the two-year rate increased by 6.1 bp to 2.4697%.

CHANGES

The pound is falling sharply before the BOE meeting, with markets anticipating a widening of the rate differential between British and American key rates this year.

The dollar advanced 0.46% against a basket of reference currencies, the euro lost 0.18% to 1.0796 dollars, and the pound sterling lost 0.45% to 1.2628 dollars.

OIL

Oil is up slightly, with markets focusing on Jerome Powell’s statement that rates are “probably at their peak”.

Brent rose 0.74% to $81.15 per barrel, American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) rose 0.78% to $76.44.

(Written by Corentin Chappron, edited by Kate Entringer)

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