PARIS (Reuters) – European stock markets hesitantly ended a session without notable events on Wednesday, before the publication of Nvidia’s results and the report of the Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy meeting.

In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.22% to 7,812.09 points, while the German Dax rose 0.29% and the British Footsie lost 0.73%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index ended the session with an increase of 0.29%, compared to a decline of 0.2% for the FTSEurofirst 300 and 0.2% for the Stoxx 600.

The European stock markets have evolved according to company news, with a few results livening up trading in the absence of more important events.

Investors remained cautious ahead of the release of two key elements for the trajectory of risky assets in the short term.

The minutes of the latest monetary policy meeting are expected at 19:00 GMT, as the latest indicators showed that the US economy remained more resilient than expected to rate hikes.

Nvidia’s results, which will be announced after the close of US markets, will also be crucial for risky assets.

The craze for artificial intelligence has in fact contributed to the good performance of the stock markets in the United States and, to a lesser extent, in Europe. A disappointment in the results of Nvidia, which produces the chips essential to the technology, could be enough to send the markets back.

Consumer sentiment in the euro zone, a second-order indicator published on Wednesday, also showed a slight improvement in February, at -15.5 points.

VALUES

Carrefour advanced 4.93% after reporting an increase in its annual turnover on Tuesday and said it was confident for 2024, after recording a record cash flow of 1.62 billion euros for the year. last year and an operating profit up 18.5% on the main French market in a context of high inflation.

Edenred announced on Wednesday that its Italian branch, Edenred Italia, was the subject of an investigation also targeting certain of its managers and directors, and lost 11.46%.

Antin Infrastructure Partners fell 7.36% after Citigroup lowered its recommendation to “neutral” from “buy”.

Nexans rose 4.20% after Oddo raised its recommendation to “outperform” from “neutral”.

HSBC reported a record annual profit on Wednesday but lower than analysts’ forecasts, as a $3 billion writedown linked to the group’s stake in a Chinese bank dampened the favorable impact of rising interest rates. The stock fell 8.39%.

A WALL STREET

The American stock markets fell at closing time in Europe in a cautious context.

At closing time in Europe, trading on the New York Stock Exchange indicated a drop of 0.15% for the Dow Jones, compared to 0.1% for the Standard & Poor’s 500, and 0.53% for the Nasdaq Composite.

RATE

European yields rebounded in a wait-and-see environment.

At the close of the rate markets in Europe, the ten-year Treasury yield rose 1.4 bp to 4.2891%, compared to 2.2 bp for the two-year rate, to 4.6339%.

The German ten-year yield rose 6.3 bps to 2.434%, while the two-year yield rose 6.7 bps to 2.8633%.

CHANGES

Variations are small in the absence of important data.

The dollar erodes by 0.05% against a basket of reference currencies, while the euro nibbles 0.09% to 1.0813 dollars, and the pound sterling is stable at 1.262 dollars.

OIL

Crude prices are up modestly as attacks on ships in the Red Sea continue.

Brent rose by 0.5% to $82.75 per barrel, American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) strengthened by 0.66% to $77.55.

(Written by Corentin Chappron, edited by Kate Entringer)

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