PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets are expected to be mixed at the opening on Wednesday before new publication of results and new comments from monetary policy makers in the United States, in a context poor in macroeconomic data.
Futures contracts suggest an opening up 0.1% for the Parisian CAC 40, compared to 0.12% for the FTSE in London, a hesitant Dax in Frankfurt, and an increase of 0.17% for the EuroStoxx 50 .
The markets are preparing for a new burst of results in Europe. Publicis, Vinci and Akzo Nobel are among the main companies due to publish their quarterly results on Wednesday, while TotalEnergies published its results before the opening.
In the United States, members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Adriana Kugler, Michelle Bowman, Thomas Barkin and Susan Collins will speak during the day and could give more information to investors on the trajectory of rates.
On Tuesday, board members Loretta Mester and Neel Kashkari welcomed the progress made on inflation but said more work remained to be done.
In the absence of significant data, central banks will continue to direct markets.
“The Fed and the European Central Bank are on hold, (which) can be frustrating for a market that anticipates sharp rate cuts,” note ING strategists.
A WALL STREET
The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Tuesday as investors took into account the quarterly results of large American companies while analyzing comments from Fed officials on the possible timing of its monetary easing.
The Dow Jones index gained 0.37%, or 141.24 points, to 38,521.36 points. The broader S&P-500 gained 11.42 points, or 0.23%, to 4,954.23 points. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 11.32 points (0.07%) to 15,609.00 points.
In terms of values, Palantir Technologies jumped 30.8% following a solid annual profit forecast.
IN ASIA
The Tokyo Stock Exchange ended in mixed order on Wednesday, the Nikkei having been penalized by the drop in technology stocks, even if the solid results of Toyota and Mitsubishi limited the losses.
The Nikkei index lost 0.11% to 36,119.92 points and the broader Topix gained 0.42% to 2,550.04 points.
Stocks linked to semiconductors fell, under the pressure of profit-taking. Daikin Industries fell 7.07%, chipmaking equipment maker Tokyo Electron lost 0.52%.
Chinese markets ended higher after government support announcements made on Tuesday. The Shanghai SSE Composite gained 1.44%, the CSI 300 0.96%. The Hong Kong Hang Seng index fell 0.22%.
RATE
US yields are stable in a wait-and-see environment.
The yield on the ten-year Treasury remains at 4.098%, that on the two-year at 4.4016%.
The German ten-year yield eroded by 1.2 bp to 2.285%, while that of the two-year rate was stable at 2.5957%.
CHANGES
Foreign exchange markets are calm, with traders digesting comments from members of the Fed’s board of governors.
The dollar declined by 0.12% against a basket of reference currencies, while the euro gained 0.12% to 1.0767 dollars, and the pound sterling 0.15% to 1.2616 dollars.
In Asia, the yen is standing still at 147.88 yen per dollar, while the Australian dollar is up 0.15% at 0.6533 dollars.
OIL
Crude markets are hesitating after data on US oil inventories were weaker than expected, with inventories increasing by 0.67 million barrels against 1.9 million expected by consensus, according to figures from the American Petroleum Institute.
Brent remains at $78.54 per barrel, American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) stagnates at $73.3.
(Written by Corentin Chappron, edited by Kate Entringer)
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