(Reuters) – European stock markets ended on a hesitant note on Monday, while Wall Street was in the green at midday in New York, with big caps in the technology sector such as Alphabet and Tesla contributing to a sharp rebound in the Nasdaq ahead of the next monetary policy decision by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) on Wednesday.
In Paris, the CAC 40 ended down 0.2% at 8,148.14 points. The British Footsie lost 0.06% and the German Dax gained 0.01%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index rose by 0.01%, the FTSEurofirst 300 fell by 0.1%, as did the Stoxx 600.
At closing time in Europe, the Dow Jones gained 0.35%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 0.75% and the Nasdaq Composite 0.84%.
The major technology stocks stand out on Wall Street, notably Alphabet (+4.98%) after information from Bloomberg according to which Apple (+1.4%) is in talks to integrate the Gemini artificial intelligence (AI) engine. Google in the iPhone.
The communications services sector grew 2.88%, leading the 11 major S&P 500 sectors.
On the automotive side, Tesla shares jumped 5.27% after the electric vehicle manufacturer announced an increase in the price of its Model Y in certain European countries on March 22.
Focus this week is also on Nvidia and its annual developers conference, which kicked off Monday, with investors awaiting announcements about new chips during a speech by Chief Executive Jensen Huang. The volatile Nvidia stock is moving slightly in the red mid-session in New York.
“The tailwind for AI darlings comes from Nvidia’s annual artificial intelligence conference… an event that could be so important to the stock that it’s been dubbed the ‘Woodstock of’ AI,’” said Art Hogan, an analyst at B Riley Wealth.
Enthusiasm around AI technologies drove Wall Street to record highs in March, fueling investor appetite despite caution over the timing and pace of interest rate cuts expected from the Fed this year.
After the publication of higher than expected inflation data last week in the United States, markets assess the probability of a rate cut in June at 59%, compared to 71% a week ago, according to the tool CME FedWatch.
VALUES IN EUROPE
Alstom shares ended the session up 6.38%, at the top of the CAC 40, after an increase in recommendation from Deutsche Bank, whose analysts believe that “the worst is over” now for the railway equipment group heavily in debt.
TODAY’S INDICATORS
Inflation in the euro zone slowed in February at an annual rate in line with the first estimate, show final data published Monday by Eurostat.
CHANGES
The dollar advances (0.16%) against a basket of reference currencies, while the euro loses 0.15% to 1.0871 dollars.
RATE
German yields rose slightly on Monday, while yields on 10-year US Treasuries hit a three-week high ahead of the Fed meeting.
The ten-year German Bund yield gained 0.2 basis points (bps) to 2.458%, with that of the US Treasury at the same maturity gaining 3.0 bps to 4.3341%.
OIL
Oil prices are hitting a four-month high with reduced crude exports from Iraq and Saudi Arabia and signs of stronger demand and economic growth in China and the United States.
Brent rose 1.5% to $86.62 per barrel, with American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) increasing 1.76% to $82.47.
(Written by Augustin Turpin, edited by Bertrand Boucey)
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