by Claude Chendjou

PARIS (Reuters) – Major European stock markets are expected to fall on Monday, with investors likely to continue to move away from risky assets amid uncertainty after mixed U.S. employment data and the absence of a catalyst for today’s session while a series of indicators will be published from Tuesday.

According to the first available indications, the Parisian CAC 40 should lose 0.36% at the opening. The Dax in Frankfurt could fall 0.45%, while the FTSE 100 in London is expected to drop 0.33%. The EuroStoxx 50 index is expected to fall by 0.50%.

No major indicator is on today’s agenda and the monthly employment report in the United States, published Friday, should continue to dictate the trend. It showed a rise in the unemployment rate to 3.9% in February and a slowdown in wage growth to 0.1% over one month, but an acceleration in job creation to 275,000, which caused a volatile session. in Europe and New York.

For the coming week, investors will mainly be watching, from Tuesday, data on price developments in several euro zone countries, the United Kingdom and the United States, while central bankers have recently opened the way to a relaxation of their monetary policy.

According to sources, certain officials of the European Central Bank (ECB) are even pleading, informally, for a reduction in the interest rate in June and July.

In the United States, Goldman Sachs indicates in a note that the weakness of the employment report increases the probability of a rate cut in May, although June remains the most likely timetable.

A WALL STREET

The New York Stock Exchange ended down on Friday after reaching record highs, notably following the publication of a mixed report on American employment.

The Dow Jones index lost 0.18%, or -68.66 points, to 38,722.69 points. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 lost -33.67 points, or 0.65% to 5,123.69 points. The Nasdaq Composite fell -188.26 points (1.16%) to 16,085.113.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq briefly hit record highs before falling late in the morning in New York.

After climbing 5% and reaching a new record, the champion of artificial intelligence Nvidia fell, dragging the sector in its wake.

Gap gained 4.5% after better-than-expected quarterly results.

IN ASIA

On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei index fell by 2.16% to 38,830.46 points, after a series of records last week. The broader Topix lost 2.2% to 2,666.83 points.

Japanese indices fell in the wake of American technology stocks and due to the strength of the yen, with semiconductor groups such as Tokyo Electron and Advantest losing 3.18% and 4.89% respectively.

In terms of indicators, the Japanese economy avoided a technical recession with gross domestic product (GDP) increasing by 0.4% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, compared to a contraction of 0.4% in the first estimate.

The MSCI index bringing together stocks from Asia and the Pacific (excluding Japan) lost 0.16%, after hitting an eight-month peak on Friday.

In China, the Shanghai SSE Composite gained 0.08% and the CSI 300 rose 0.63%, with the 0.7% annual rebound in consumer prices in February being well received as the world’s second largest economy is facing weak demand, a crisis in the real estate sector and skyrocketing municipal debt.

VALUES TO FOLLOW IN EUROPE:

EXCHANGES/RATES

The yen (+0.07%) is trading at 146.96 per dollar, as Reuters reported that a growing number of Bank of Japan (BoJ) officials are in favor of ending interest rates. negative interest this month due to forecasts of large wage increases in the annual wage negotiations.

The dollar rises slightly, by 0.05%, against a basket of reference currencies but remains close to its low of January 15, reached Friday at 102.33 points.

The euro stabilizes at 1.0936 dollars (-0.01%) after rebounding 0.9% last week to 1.0980 dollars.

The pound sterling is trading at 1.2847 dollars (-0.08%).

Bitcoin, which hit a record high of $70,175 on Friday, reached $68,681 on Monday (+0.38%).

On the bond market, the yield on ten-year US Treasury bonds fell by around two basis points, to 4.0672%, compared to a one-month low of 4.038% hit on Friday.

OIL

The oil market extends its losses from last week due to concerns about slowing demand in China, although geopolitical risks linked to the Middle East and Russia limit the decline.

Brent fell 0.48% to $81.69 per barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) lost 0.55% to $77.58.

NO MAJOR ECONOMIC INDICATOR ON THE AGENDA FOR MARCH 11

(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Blandine Hénault)

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