PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets consolidated on Thursday morning after their recent records born from the strengthening of expectations of a rate cut by the American Federal Reserve (Fed), in light of the latest economic indicators.

In Paris, around 08:00 GMT, the CAC 40 fell 0.39% to 8,207.83 points. In London, the FTSE 100 lost 0.33% and in Frankfurt, the Dax fell by 0.08%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index declined by 0.24% and the FTSEurofirst 300 by 0.05%. The Stoxx 600, which reached a new unprecedented peak during the session at 525.33 points, is now down 0.04%.

On a sectoral level, energy (-1.26%) with notably BP (-2.13%) and TotalEnergies (-1.18%), as well as automobiles (-1.27%) with among others BMW (-5.58%) and Daimler Truck (-3.19%) weigh on the Stoxx 600.

Futures contracts on Wall Street predict an increase of 0.05% for the Dow Jones, 0.06% for the Standard & Poor’s 500 and 0.16% for the Nasdaq the day after a session in the green where two of the three indices recorded all-time highs.

The improvement in equity markets has recently been fueled by the publication in the United States of data on consumer prices (CPI) which calls for a reduction in Fed rates. The market anticipates a first easing in September and another in December, i.e. a 50 basis point reduction.

On the bond market, the yield on ten-year Treasuries fell by around three basis points, to 4.3284%, after a decline of nine points the day before, while that of the German Bund of the same maturity dropped a little more. by one point, to 2.408%, after a decline of more than 11 points on Wednesday.

Investors are waiting this Thursday at 12:30 GMT for figures on the evolution of import and export prices in the United States, as well as economic indicators in the country such as industrial production and the activity index. “Philly Fed.”

These statistics could influence the trend while many company results are currently driving trade in Europe.

In Paris, Ubisoft fell 13.15% after the publication of its results for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. JPMorgan emphasizes that the group’s annual EBIT is just in line with the company’s objectives.

Vallourec lost 5.05% after posting a turnover down 26% in the first quarter.

Elior soars by 21.68% thanks to a 144% jump in its adjusted current operating profit (Ebita) in the first half.

Elsewhere in Europe, Siemens lost 2.27% due to a drop in quarterly profit from its industrial activity.

Easyjet plunges 6.83%, the airline having suffered a greater loss than expected in the first half. It also announced the replacement at the beginning of 2025 of its current general manager Johan Lundgren by financial director Kenton Jarvis.

BT jumped 9.23% as the operator’s new chief executive, Allison Kirkby, announced she was aiming for free cash flow to more than double over the next five years.

In insurance, Zurich Insurance rose by 2.23% after announcing a 9% increase in the first quarter in premiums relating to property protection, while Swiss Re advanced by 3.47% after publishing a net profit of $1.1 billion, better than expected. Aegon (+0.8%) is buoyed by the announcement of a 200 million euro share buyback plan.

(Writing by Claude Chendjou, edited by Kate Entringer)

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