PARIS (Reuters) – European stock markets ended a quiet session lower on Tuesday, in the absence of major events.

In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.34% to 7,795.22 points, while the German Dax fell 0.14% and the British Footsie fell 0.12%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index, the FTSEurofirst 300 and the Stoxx 600 ended without a marked direction.

Trading was calm on Tuesday, in the absence of leading indicators or events on both sides of the Atlantic.

In the euro zone, the European Central Bank published its wage growth indicator, which shows a decline in wage dynamics in the fourth quarter in the zone. However, at 4.5%, wage growth remained well above the rate of 3% compatible with inflation at 2%, which could encourage the central bank to maintain its rates at a restrictive level for longer than expected. .

Investors will be focused on Nvidia’s results on Wednesday, as bets around artificial intelligence fueled the market rise in 2024.

The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy meeting are also expected on Wednesday, and they could provide more insight into the central bank’s discussions as inflation shows signs of persisting in the United States.

VALUES

Renault and Stellantis fell by 4.21% and 0.93% respectively, while figures published on Tuesday showed that sales of electric vehicles had fallen over one month in the European Union.

Forvia continued its fall that began during Monday’s session, ending down 9.65%. The group said on Monday that it planned to cut 10,000 jobs in Europe.

Air Liquide rose 8.26% to reach a record for the session, while the industrial gas specialist reported better than expected annual operating profit and announced a doubling of its margin target for 2025.

Bic reported increased annual revenue on Monday, thanks to double-digit growth in Latin America and sustained performance in Europe, which pushed the stock up 8.72%.

Barclays presented on Tuesday a three-year plan to revive its share price, including the return of 10 billion pounds (11.69 billion euros) to shareholders and a major restructuring plan. The title gained 8.59%.

The IHG hotel group climbed 5.36% after saying on Tuesday it plans to return more than a billion dollars to its shareholders in 2024.

Superdry jumped 17.39%, an American investment fund considering a takeover of the British group in difficulty.

A WALL STREET

Wall Street is hesitant in a data-poor context, with investors worried about a persistence of inflationary pressures in the United States after the producer prices published on Friday.

At closing time in Europe, trading on the New York Stock Exchange indicated a drop of 0.14% for the Dow Jones, compared to 0.69% for the Standard & Poor’s 500, and 1.21% for the Nasdaq Composite.

RATE

Yields declined in a wait-and-see environment.

At the close of the rate markets in Europe, the ten-year Treasury yield lost 4.3 bp to 4.2517%, compared to 7.8 bp for the two-year rate, to 4.578%.

The German ten-year yield fell 3.9 bps to 2.371%, while the two-year yield fell 3.6 bps to 2.7974%.

CHANGES

The euro strengthens against the dollar after data on wage dynamics which raise fears that inflationary pressures will remain significant in 2024 in the euro zone.

The dollar lost 0.28% against a basket of reference currencies, while the euro strengthened by 0.34% to 1.0814 dollars. The pound sterling advanced 0.4% to 1.2644 dollars.

OIL

Crude is falling, worried about demand which could turn out to be less strong than expected in 2024.

Brent fell by 1.44% to $82.36 per barrel, American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) decreased by 0.42% to $78.86.

TO BE CONTINUED ON WEDNESDAY:

(Written by Corentin Chappron, edited by Sophie Louet)

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