by Claude Chendjou
PARIS (Reuters) – Wall Street is expected to rise on Friday at the opening and European stock markets are also in the green at mid-session, the positive trend being supported by solid corporate results and macroeconomic indicators favorable to a decline rapid rates of major central banks.
In Paris, the CAC 40 advanced 0.57% to 7,631.95 points around 11:20 GMT. In Frankfurt, the Dax gained 0.64% and in London, the FTSE increased by 0.19%.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index recorded a gain of 0.45%, the EuroStoxx 50 of the euro zone an increase of 0.72% and the Stoxx 600 gained 0.63%.
Over the week as a whole, the CAC 40 is at this stage generally stable (-0.04%) while the Stoxx 600 shows a gain of 0.64%.
Futures on New York indices signal a stable opening on Wall Street for the Dow Jones and increases of 0.53% for the Standard & Poor’s 500 and 0.98% for the Nasdaq the day after a session in the green during which data in the United States seemed to confirm a slightly less dynamic labor market.
Investors will be informed at 1:30 p.m. GMT of the official report on employment in the United States for the month of January. The Reuters consensus forecasts a drop in job creation to 180,000, a rise in the unemployment rate to 3.8% and a slowdown in wage growth to 0.3% over one month.
On the results side, of the 208 S&P-500 companies that have already communicated their publications, 80% beat expectations, according to LSEG data.
VALUES TO FOLLOW AT WALL STREET
Meta Platforms jumped 16.4% in pre-market trading following the announcement of the payment of the first dividend in its history, while the group’s quarterly turnover was better than expected.
Amazon advances 6.5% in pre-market trading after publishing quarterly turnover above expectations on Thursday evening, driven by the good performance of the “cloud” and online sales.
Apple, on the other hand, fell by 2.4% in pre-market trading after reporting on Thursday evening disappointing sales in China over the October-December period, an element which takes precedence over the group’s overall quarterly results, which are higher than Wall’s expectations. Street.
VALUES IN EUROPE
Corporate news is also strongly driving trade in Europe, notably with TotalEnergies (-1.42%), one of the biggest declines in the CAC 40, while its American competitors ExxonMobil and Chevron must publish their results before the opening of Wall Street.
The oil and gas compartment dropped 0.81%, BP (-1.55%) having also been forced to close the largest refinery in the American Midwest due to a loss of power, according to sources familiar with the matter.
On the SBF 120, Vallourec jumped 5.31%, the group having reported figures for 2023 higher than its own expectations and announced that it expected net debt to be reduced to zero at the end of 2025.
The European new technologies index (+0.61%) benefits from the good results of Meta and Amazon.
Danske Bank climbs 6.59% after publishing its fourth quarter results and announcing a share buyback program.
TomTom soars 9.13%, with the group forecasting generally stable sales this year despite weak demand in the automobile sector. The specialist in road navigation maps also published a quarterly loss that was less marked than expected.
Electrolux lost 2.05%, with the group anticipating continued low consumer morale for the start of 2024.
RATE
The yield on ten-year German government bonds increased slightly, by two basis points, to 2.158% after a decline of almost three points the day before, a sign of a lull in the bond market.
That of ten-year US Treasury bonds, at 3.8836%, is stalling, pending the employment report.
CHANGES
The dollar fell by 0.05% against a basket of reference currencies and is heading towards its first weekly decline (-0.5% at this stage) since the start of the year, in a context of easing in the American bond.
The euro advanced 0.06%, to $1.0879, while the pound sterling stood at $1.2757 (0.12%).
OIL
The oil market is progressing in reaction to OPEC’s decision to leave its production unchanged: Brent advances by 0.51% to 79.10 dollars per barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) by 0.53 % to 74.21 dollars.
However, both oil benchmarks are expected to post a loss for the week as a whole amid concerns about Chinese demand.
(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Sophie Louet)
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I have over 8 years of experience working in the news industry. I have worked as a reporter, editor, and now managing editor at 247 News Agency. I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the news website and overseeing all of the content that is published. I also write a column for the website, covering mostly market news.
