PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets showed slight variations on Wednesday morning in a context of caution before an intervention by the President of the American Federal Reserve Jerome Powell and several macroeconomic indicators expected during the day.

In Paris, the CAC 40 nibbles 0.20% to 7,948.54 points around 08:45 GMT. In London, the FTSE 100 gained 0.23% and in Frankfurt, the Dax gained 0.11%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index increased by 0.35%, the FTSEurofirst 300 by 0.16% and the Stoxx 600 by 0.24%.

Futures contracts on Wall Street predict an increase of 0.19% for the Dow Jones, 0.30% for the Standard & Poor’s 500 and 0.59% for the Nasdaq the day after a session of sharp decline with the decline in technology stocks, including Apple.

Investors are waiting at 3:00 p.m. GMT for the hearing of Fed President Jerome Powell before elected representatives of the American Congress, in the hope of detecting elements on the trajectory of key rates while the timetable for a reduction in the The cost of money is now shifted by the markets to June, or even July.

The strength of the American economy, as the figures from the ADP survey and the Jolts report on job offers expected for the day could further testify, act as brakes on monetary easing in the immediate future.

Citi analysts noted Tuesday “a much less favorable environment in which high inflation is increasingly likely to keep policy rates elevated until activity slows more sharply.”

Announcements from the Bank of Canada (BoC) at 3:00 p.m. GMT, the first of the major central banks to make a monetary policy decision this month, could provide a first glimpse of the current debates.

In terms of economic indicators, the Fed’s Beige Book will be published at 7:00 p.m. GMT, while in the euro zone, retail sales are expected at 10:00 a.m. GMT.

On the stock market, the rebound in basic resources (+0.76%), penalized the day before by the absence of major recovery measures from Beijing at the opening of the annual session of the Chinese Parliament, offers a little support for indices.

In terms of values, Scor climbed 10.62%, signing the best performance of the SBF 120 thanks to an increase in net profit in the fourth quarter and the announcement of the payment of a dividend to shareholders.

Dassault Aviation fell 3.98% after reporting lower order intake and deliveries in 2023.

Elsewhere in Europe, DHL Group fell 4.71% after announcing forecasts for 2024 below those of the market, while Symrise (+4.05%), manufacturer of flavors and perfumes, is buoyed by a profit operating income above expectations for 2023.

(Writing by Claude Chendjou, edited by Kate Entringer)

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