PARIS(Reuters) – European stock markets are expected to open mixed on Monday, at the start of a week marked by the publication of some macroeconomic data on Thursday.

Futures contracts suggest an opening increase of 0.11% for the Parisian CAC 40, against a decline of 0.1% for the FTSE in London, 0.11% for the Dax in Frankfurt, and a rise of 0.08% for the EuroStoxx 50.

No monetary policy indicators or events are expected on Monday and markets continue on their course, with investors repositioning for a more accommodative Federal Reserve.

PMI indicators for August are expected on Thursday, and should help clarify the economic trajectory in the eurozone, where private sector activity stagnated in July and raised fears of a later-than-expected recovery in the European economy.

Thursday will also see the start of the Jackson Hole Symposium in the United States, an annual meeting of central bankers devoted this year to labor markets.

Observers will be attentive to the speeches of the finance ministers, who could clarify on this occasion their perception of the economy and monetary policy.

The intervention on this occasion of the chairman of the Fed, Jerome Powell, will be closely followed: the latest activity figures in the United States suggest that the economy is doing better than expected, which seems to rule out a 50 basis point cut in September.

Any indication of the pace of future rate cuts or their magnitude will therefore likely trigger a reaction from markets positioned for almost 100 basis points of easing by December in the United States.

The US Democratic Party convention, which begins on Monday, could also be an opportunity for the vice-president and candidate in the November 5 election, Kamala Harris, to clarify her economic program.

VALUES TO FOLLOW:

ON WALL STREET

The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Friday, with Wall Street’s major indexes posting their best weekly performance of 2024.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2 percent, or 96.7 points, to 40,659.76. The broader S&P 500 gained 11.03 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,554.25. The Nasdaq Composite gained 37.224 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,631.72.

IN ASIA

Japanese stocks fell sharply under pressure from a strong yen and profit-taking, with investors selling some of their exposure as the index returned to the 38,000-point level on Friday. The Nikkei index lost 1.41% to 37,525.44 points, while the broader Topix index lost 1.03% to 2,651.05 points.

Semiconductor manufacturing equipment specialist Tokyo Electron fell 2.9%, the main drag on the Nikkei.

Hong Kong stocks are rising, buoyed by expectations of a US rate cut in September. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is up 1.01%, Shanghai’s SSE Composite is up 0.42%, and the CSI 300 is up 0.31%.

RATE

Yields are changing little in the United States, in a context poor in indicators.

The 10-year Treasury yield declined 1.3 bps to 3.8787%, while the two-year yield dropped 1.3 bps to 4.0534%.

CHANGES

The dollar fell against the yen as traders bet on a narrowing of the rate differential on both sides of the Pacific.

In Asia, the yen advanced by 1.17% to 145.85 yen per dollar, the Australian dollar rose by 0.29% to 0.6685 dollars.

The dollar fell 0.29% against a basket of benchmark currencies, the euro rose 0.14% to $1.1043, and the pound strengthened 0.08% to $1.2954.

OIL

Concerns over Chinese demand and talks of a truce in the Gaza Strip are pushing the barrel back.

Brent fell by 0.29% to $79.45 per barrel, while US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) weakened by 0.44% to $76.31.

NO MAJOR ECONOMIC INDICATOR EXPECTED TODAY

(Corentin Chapron, edited by Zhifan Liu)

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