by Augustin Turpin

(Reuters) – Wall Street is expected to be almost stable on Thursday while European stock markets are moving into positive territory for the last session of the quarter, with the pan-European benchmark Stoxx 600 index moving to record levels on the eve of the long weekend of Easter.

New York index futures signal Wall Street opening down 0.01% for the Dow Jones, 0.05% for the Standard & Poor’s-500 and 0.06% for the Nasdaq

In Paris, the CAC 40 rose 0.34% to 8,233.01 around 11:30 GMT. In Frankfurt, the Dax gained 0.16% and in London, the FTSE 0.31%.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index gained 0.27% and the eurozone’s EuroStoxx 50 gained 0.36%.

The Stoxx 600, up around 7% since the start of the year, progresses by 0.26% and is heading towards a second consecutive quarter of gains, driven by the rally in technology stocks, against a backdrop of enthusiasm for artificial intelligence and anticipation of interest rate cuts by the main central banks.

“The resilient economy and sticky inflation will dampen any significant rally. But expectations of the start of an easing cycle will prevent any significant selling. So we find ourselves in a middle ground.” , notes Mohit Kumar, analyst at Jefferies.

Among the macroeconomic indicators of the day, retail sales in Germany showed a surprise drop of 1.9% in February, while in the United Kingdom, the British economy shrank by 0.3% in the fourth quarter in sequential rhythm.

Investors are especially awaiting the publication on Friday of the PCE price indicator in the United States, a key indicator of inflation, at a time when most financial markets will be closed for the Easter holidays.

VALUES IN EUROPE

JD Sports soars 9.5%, at the top of the Stoxx 600, the sportswear retailer having reported a pre-tax profit in line with its forecasts, while the Swedish telecommunications group Millicom takes 3.8% after an increase in recommendation by JP Morgan.

Casino collapses 65% after the French food retailer announced in a press release on Wednesday that it had implemented its financial restructuring and unveiled a new management team.

VALUES TO FOLLOW AT WALL STREET

RATE

Euro zone bond yields rise on Thursday ahead of the release of key inflation data, which could affect the US Federal Reserve’s rate path.

The German ten-year bond rate gained 2.6 basis points (bp) to 2.318%, and that of the American Treasury of the same maturity gained 2.2 bp to 4.218%.

CHANGES

The dollar advances (+0.21%) against a basket of reference currencies on the eve of inflation data in the United States and while currency traders hesitate to position themselves on the yen for fear of intervention by the Bank of Japan on the foreign exchange market.

The euro lost 0.31% to 1.0792 dollars.

OIL

Oil prices are rebounding after two consecutive sessions of decline, with investors anticipating a tightening of supply while OPEC+ is expected to maintain the course on its production cuts.

Brent rose 1.2% to $87.12 per barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) rose 1.33% to $82.43.

*first estimate

(Written by Augustin Turpin, edited by Blandine Hénault)

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