by Claude Chendjou

PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets are expected to rise slightly on Thursday for the last session of the week, month and quarter, which could propel the indices towards new records in a context of appetite for risky assets despite many macroeconomic indicators expected during the day.

According to the first available indications, the CAC 40, which reached a record high of more than 8,230 points during the session on Wednesday, should gain 0.18% at the opening. The Parisian index could benefit from the good performance of the American Dow Jones, rich in industrial stocks.

The Dax in Frankfurt, which also recorded a historic peak at 18,511.17 points, could advance by 0.07%. The FTSE 100 in London is expected to gain 0.40%. The EuroStoxx 50 index is expected to increase by 0.08% after its record the day before at 4,420.42 points.

European stock markets are at their highest – the Stoxx 600 having gained nearly 7% since the start of the year – amid enthusiasm over a probable cut in June in the key rates of the European Central Bank (ECB) and of the American Federal Reserve (Fed) following announcements by central bankers last week.

Among the macroeconomic indicators of the day which could support or not this stock market rally, we note that in Germany, retail sales showed a surprise drop of 1.9% in February, while in the United Kingdom, the economy The British market fell by 0.3% in the fourth quarter sequentially.

Investors are especially awaiting the publication on Friday of a key indicator of American inflation at a time when most financial markets will be closed for the Easter holidays.

Traders are currently betting on a drop of 75 points to 100 basis points in rates from major central banks this year, which could benefit technology stocks already supported by the craze for artificial intelligence.

A WALL STREET

The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Wednesday, supported in particular by Merck & Co.

The Dow Jones index gained 1.22%, or 477.75 points, to 39,760.08 points. The broader S&P-500 gained 44.91 points, or 0.86%, to 5,248.49 points. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 83.82 points (0.51%) to 16,399.521 points.

Merck & Co made progress after its Winrevair treatment for adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension was approved in the United States.

Nvidia fell for the second session in a row, while GameStop finished lower after reporting lower quarterly revenue.

IN ASIA

On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei index fell by 1.46% to 40,168.07 points, in a context of caution pending possible intervention by the Japanese authorities on the foreign exchange market. The broader Topix lost 1.73% to 2,750.81 points.

Semiconductor groups Advantest and Tokyo Electron fell 1.62% and 0.63% respectively, while Fast Retailing, the owner of the Uniqlo brand, lost 0.47%.

The MSCI index bringing together stocks from Asia and the Pacific (excluding Japan) is practically stable.

In China, the Shanghai SSE Composite rose 0.59% and the CSI 300 rose 0.52% in a volatile session. Chinese indices were for a time under pressure from heavy selling by foreign investors, worried about the prospects of the world’s second largest economy.

The CSI300 thus fell to its lowest level in a month at the start of trading, while the SSE Composite fell below the symbolic bar of 3,000 points during the session.

VALUES TO FOLLOW IN EUROPE:

EXCHANGES/RATES

The dollar gains 0.07% against a basket of reference currencies before key data on American inflation.

The yen JPY=> is trading around 151.34 per dollar, after falling to 151.975 on Wednesday, its lowest level since the mid-1990s, triggering an emergency meeting of Japanese authorities.

The euro fell by 0.22%, to 1.0802 dollars, while the pound sterling traded at 1.2609 dollars (-0.23%).

The yield on ten-year US Treasury bonds rose a little more than a basis point, to 4.2121%, while one of the governors of the Fed, Christopher Waller, said Wednesday evening that the bank central was in no hurry to lower rates in a context of persistent inflation.

The yield on the ten-year German Bund, the benchmark for the euro zone, also rose by 1.4 points to 2.306%, after a decline of 5.5 points the day before.

OIL

Oil prices rose Thursday after two straight sessions of decline, as investors digested the latest data on U.S. crude and gasoline inventories which rose unexpectedly last week.

Brent rose 0.34% to $86.38 per barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) rose 0.54% to $81.79.

*first estimate

(Writing by Claude Chendjou, edited by Kate Entringer)

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