by Claude Chendjou
PARIS (Reuters) – European stock markets ended with slight variations on Monday and Wall Street was slightly down at the end of the morning in New York in a session without relief, without any macroeconomic catalyst, while investors are looking towards inflation figures expected this week.
In Paris, the CAC 40 closed stable at 8,151.6 points, after the absolute record set last week. The British Footsie fell 0.17%. The German Dax, driven by real estate and basic resources, advanced 0.34%, after reaching a new peak during the session at 18,285.58 points.
The EuroStoxx 50 index increased by 0.30% and the FTSEurofirst 300 gained 0.07%. The Stoxx 600, which according to Citigroup and Goldman Sachs could reach 540 points by the end of the year, gained 0.05% to 509.87 points.
At the close in Europe, the Dow Jones fell by 0.34%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 by 0.16% and the Nasdaq by 0.08%.
Boeing, which announced the departure at the end of the year of its general director Dave Calhoun, advanced by 1.60%, limiting the decline on Wall Street, while “tech” with Micron Technology (+7.83%) and Nvidia (+1.21%) also offers support.
The positive trend in Europe was mainly supported by defense values ​​in a context of geopolitical tensions two days after the attack on a concert hall in the suburbs of Moscow, Russia partly incriminating Ukraine in this attack .
The gains in Europe were, however, reduced in light trading while the stock market week will be shortened on most markets to four days due to the Easter weekend.
Investors are also awaiting data this week on inflation in several European countries, as well as the publication of the PCE price index and gross domestic product (GDP) for the fourth quarter in the United States.
VALUES IN EUROPE
The defense group Thales (1.94%) finished at the top of the CAC 40, while elsewhere in Europe, Saab, Leonardo and Rheinmetall advanced respectively by 1.28%, 2.73% and 1.36% on background of worsening geopolitical tensions. Dassault Aviation, which also benefited from BNP Paribas’ “buy” recommendation, gained 7.30%, signing the best performance of the SBF 120 (+0.02%).
Mergers and acquisitions operations animated the rest of the discussions with in particular the music label Believe (+4.42%), which asked Warner to submit a binding purchase offer by April 7.
In London, Direct Line, the biggest drop in the Stoxx 600, plunged 11.29%, the Belgian insurer Ageas (+1.72%) having thrown in the towel on its offer for the British group.
In Stockholm, the SBB real estate group jumped 10.4% in reaction to the announcement of a repurchase of its debt with a discount of 60%.
CHANGES
The dollar, which gained almost 1% last week, fell on Monday, by 0.19%, against a basket of reference currencies against a backdrop of speculation of intervention by the Japanese authorities on the market.
The euro, which fell last week to a nearly three-week low, rebounded by 0.29%, to $1.0836.
The pound sterling is trading at $1.2638 (+0.29%) after a decline of more than 1% last week.
RATE
The yield of the German Bund at ten, which hit a one-week low on Friday, ended Monday up 5.3 basis points, at 2.374%. The two-year one took 6.3 points, to 2.8686%.
In the United States, the yield on ten-year US Treasury bonds increased by three points, to 4.2513%, and that of two years by almost four points, to 4.6318%.
The markets ignored the latest comments from central bankers such as that of Fabio Panetta, who reaffirmed on Monday that the European Central Bank (ECB) was moving towards lowering its rates. Philip Lane, the ECB’s chief economist, noted that wage growth was slowing towards more normal levels, which could open the door to monetary easing.
In the United States, the president of the Chicago Fed, Austan Goolsbee, assured Monday that the American bank is planning three rate cuts for this year.
Investors currently expect the Fed, ECB and BoE to lower the cost of credit by around 75 basis points in total by the end of the year.
OIL
Geopolitical risk in Russia, Ukraine and the Middle East is supporting the oil market, which has gained more than 10% since the start of the year.
Brent advanced Monday by 1.46% to $86.68 per barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) by 1.60% to $81.92.
(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Zhifan Liu)
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