PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets are hesitant on Thursday morning while awaiting monetary policy decisions from the European Central Bank (ECB) while the strength of inflation in the United States has revived fears of high rates over a period prolonged.

In Paris, the CAC 40 rose 0.43% to 8,079.63 points around 07:45 GMT after opening in the red. In London, the FTSE 100 gained 0.03%. In Frankfurt, the Dax gained 0.12%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index gained 0.03%, the FTSEurofirst 300 0.04% and the Stoxx 600 0.01%.

Futures contracts on Wall Street foreshadow a stable opening for the three main indices the day after a session in sharp decline marked by a new increase in consumer prices (CPI) in the United States for the month of March.

The market is now awaiting monthly data on producer prices (PPI) at 12:30 GMT which could show, according to the Reuters consensus, an acceleration to 2.2% year-on-year, which would further push back the prospects of a rapid decline rates of the American Federal Reserve (Fed).

The scenario of an easing of the Fed’s monetary policy in September with only two rate cuts this year is now favored by traders.

Megan Greene, a member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, said on Thursday that a rate cut in Britain was also receding due to persistent inflationary pressures, which pose an even greater threat than ‘in the USA.

In the euro zone, market operators are awaiting decisions from the ECB at 12:15 GMT, in the hope that the Frankfurt institution will provide details on the reduction in its rates, still expected for the month of June.

On the bond market, the yield on the ten-year German Bund, which gained six basis points on Wednesday, rose again around three points on Thursday, to 2.466%. The two-year one reached a four-month peak at 2.99% in early trading on Thursday before reducing its gains to 2.977%.

In terms of values, Société Générale, which sold its subsidiary SGEF for 1.1 billion euros, advanced 3.47%, leading the CAC 40.

Publicis gains 0.84% ​​after better-than-expected quarterly results.

In London, Astrazeneca (+1.04%) is buoyed by the announcement of a 7% increase in the annual dividend paid to shareholders for 2024, while Darktrace (+6.23%) benefits from the increase in its annual forecasts. of turnover and margin for the second time in a month.

In Frankfurt, Prosiebensat.1 (+1.35%) is in the green after announcing that it wants to sell two e-commerce activities at the request of its main shareholder Mfe-Mediaforeurope (+0.89%), while Lufthansa (- 1.15) is in the red after suspending its flights to Tehran due to the situation in the Middle East.

(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Sophie Louet)

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