by Claude Chendjou

PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets, apart from Paris, ended lower on Thursday and Wall Street was also in the red late morning in New York, in a volatile session where investors digested a series of mixed indicators published across the Atlantic.

In Paris, the CAC 40 ended up 0.29% at 8,161.42 points after fluctuating between a session low of 8,153.69 points and a high of 8,218.07 points, a new record for the index. . The Parisian market was supported by luxury (Hermès: +1.48%) and oil stocks (TotalEnergies: +1.57%).

The German Dax, which also recorded a historic peak during the session at 18,039.05 points, fell by 0.11% at the close. The British Footsie lost 0.37%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index dropped 0.14% after an unprecedented session high of 5,031.82 points. The FTSEurofirst 300 fell by 0.19% the day after its record at 2,016.26 points. The Stoxx 600, which also reached an unprecedented high during the session at 509.31 points, lost 0.18% at the close.

European indices, which have been trading at record levels for three sessions in a context of investor appetite for risky assets against a backdrop of hopes of a drop in central bank key rates in the coming months, solid results of companies and merger-acquisition operations, experienced an indecisive session. The volatility index on the EuroStoxx 50 rose by 1.36% to 13.31 points, while on Wall Street, it rose by 0.84% ​​to 14.59 points, a sign of a certain nervousness .

As investors digested the greater-than-expected growth in producer prices in February in the United States, stock indices on both sides of the Atlantic ended up losing their initial gains.

“In some ways, today is a microcosm of last month: persistent inflation combined with signs of weakness elsewhere in the economy,” said Chris Larkin, director of trading and investments at Morgan Stanley, referring to sales in retail in the United States which posted a less marked rebound than expected in February on a monthly basis, of 0.6%, after a contraction of 1.1% in January.

A WALL STREET

At the close in Europe, the Dow Jones fell by 0.34%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 by 0.40% and the Nasdaq by 0.41% after opening in the green.

The semiconductor giants, victims of profit taking on Wednesday, fell further: Nvidia lost 3.39%, Intel 0.70% and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) 1.45%, while the chip sector gave up 1. 52%.

Eight of the eleven major sectors of the S&P-500 are in the red, with real estate (-2.19%) showing the biggest decline.

VALUES IN EUROPE

Encavis soared 25.2% after the takeover bid by Elbe Bidco, KKR’s investment vehicle, for the German group.

K&S jumped 0.23% after the German salt and potash mining group beat expectations on its annual results and provided better-than-expected guidance.

Rheinmetall gained 5.29%, with the German defense manufacturer anticipating record sales and improved profitability this year.

RWE, Germany’s largest electricity producer, fell 3.53% after saying it expected its operating profit to fall by a third in 2024.

Lanxess fell 6.5% as the German chemicals group reported challenges in the first half after a sharp fall in profit in 2023.

GTT fell by 6% due to a new exit from Engie (+1.09%) in the group’s capital.

TODAY’S INDICATORS

INSEE on Thursday lowered its growth forecast for France for the first quarter, ultimately indicating stagnation, and raised that for the second quarter to 0.3% (compared to 0.2% previously).

Unemployment claims in the United States fell last week, to 209,000 compared to 210,000 the previous week.

CHANGES

The dollar gains 0.55% against a basket of reference currencies. The greenback is boosted by the larger-than-expected rise in producer prices last month in the United States and the decline in weekly jobless claims in the country, two statistics which suggest that the Federal Reserve could reduce the number of cuts expected rates this year.

The euro fell 0.56% to $1.0885, while the pound sterling traded at $1.2746 (-0.39%).

RATE

Sovereign yields are tightening with the German ten-year which ended up 6.2 basis points, at 2.426%, while its American equivalent gained around one point, at 4.2883%.

Some European Central Bank (ECB) officials on Thursday expressed divergent views on the timing and pace of expected euro zone rate cuts, suggesting a lack of consensus yet within the ECB’s governing council. institution.

OIL

Oil prices are rising as the International Energy Agency (IEA) raised its demand growth forecast and lowered its supply forecast for this year.

Brent rose 1.71% to $85.47 per barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) rose 2.11% to $81.40.

(Writing by Claude Chendjou, edited by Kate Entringer)

Copyright © 2024 Thomson Reuters