PARIS (Reuters) – European stock markets are expected to rise at the opening on Friday ahead of some indicators and as investors digest the latest developments in monetary policy.

According to the first available indications, the Parisian CAC 40 is up 0.3% at the opening. Futures contracts on the FTSE in London suggest an opening advance of 0.52%, compared to 0.3% for the Dax in Frankfurt, and 0.26% for the EuroStoxx 50.

First-quarter UK GDP and Michigan’s preliminary US sentiment indicator are the two important indicators due on Friday.

European markets should also assimilate the latest comments from the Bank of England, which on Thursday maintained its rates at their current levels but signaled that a cut was approaching.

“The Bank of England now finds itself in a similar situation to that of the ECB, and that of the Fed at the start of the year: rate cuts are coming, just a little more data is needed to ‘ensure the right time’, detail Rabobank strategists.

The latest comments from the President of the San Francisco Federal Reserve, Mary Daly, also encourage the markets, the head of monetary policy having declared on Thursday that the process of disinflation was continuing in the United States, even if uncertainty remained. considerable”.

Next week will be marked by the publication of CPI inflation in the United States on May 15, which will help investors refine their rate projections for the Federal Reserve. Several definitive inflation indicators are also expected in the euro zone.

VALUES TO FOLLOW:

A WALL STREET

The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones finishing in the green for a seventh consecutive session, as US employment data revived hopes that the Fed would cut interest rates. interest this year.

The Dow Jones index gained 0.85%, or 331.37 points, to 39,387.76 points. The broader S&P-500 gained 26.41 points, or 0.51%, to 5,214.08 points. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 43.51 points (0.27%) to 16,346.27 points.

Arm Holdings fell 2.3% after a lower-than-expected annual revenue forecast.

IN ASIA

The Tokyo stock market is advancing in the wake of Wall Street and supported by company results. The Nikkei index gained 0.22% to 38,155.95 points and the broader Topix gained 0.26% to 2,720.38 points.

Panasonic Holdings fell 5.3% after its energy division missed its operating profit forecast for the trading year.

Chinese indexes fall after the Biden administration imposed trade restrictions on 37 new Chinese entities. The Shanghai SSE Composite lost 0.07%, the CSI 300 0.13%.

RATE

US yields are up slightly after Mary Daly’s comments.

The ten-year Treasury yield increased by 1.2 bps to 4.461%, while the two-year rate strengthened by 1.5 bps to 4.8192%.

CHANGES

Currency markets vary little in the absence of new data.

In Asia, the yen fell by 0.1% to 155.61 yen per dollar, the Australian dollar lost 0.15% to 0.6609 dollars.

The dollar advanced 0.07% against a basket of reference currencies, while the euro lost 0.06% to $1.0774, and the pound sterling 0.06% to $1.2514.

OIL

Crude is showing a slight increase, supported by the geopolitical context as Israel bombs Rafah, as well as by the latest Chinese activity figures, published on Thursday.

Brent nibbles 0.63% to 84.41 dollars per barrel, American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) gaining 0.73% to 79.84 dollars.

(Written by Corentin Chappron, edited by Zhifan Liu)

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