by Claude Chendjou
PARIS (Reuters) – Wall Street is expected to be practically stable on Wednesday before the publication of the minutes of the latest Fed meeting, while European stock markets are opting for a cautious rebound mid-session after the fall of the day before linked to announcements in from China. Futures on New York indices signal an opening on Wall Street down 0.05% for the Dow Jones, 0.03% for the Standard & Poor’s 500 and 0.07% for the Nasdaq the day after a rebound after Monday’s sharp decline. In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.28%, to 7,542.73 points, around 11:05 GMT. In Frankfurt, the Dax rose by 0.25%, and in London, the FTSE rose by 0.33%.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index gained 0.22% and the eurozone’s EuroStoxx 50 0.11%. The Stoxx 600, which fell to a two-week low on Tuesday, rebounded by 0.24%.
A sign of a still nervous market, the indices measuring volatility on Wall Street and on the EuroStoxx 50 remain at high levels, around 20 points.
Risk aversion is fueled by the absence of major economic stimulus measures in China, while on the trade front, Beijing on Tuesday imposed provisional anti-dumping measures on imports of certain spirits from the European Union (EU ).
Investors also have an eye on monetary policy as the “minutes” of the September 17-18 meeting of the American Federal Reserve are due to be published in the evening.
In the euro zone, one week before the next meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB), several officials of the institution pleaded Wednesday in favor of a further reduction in key rates, even if some are skeptical about the trajectory of inflation in a context of tensions in the Middle East.
On the European stock market, sectors likely to benefit from a reduction in borrowing costs are sought after: real estate and utilities advance by 0.86% and 0.26% respectively. The banking sector, on the other hand, fell by 0.38%, retracing part of the increase at the start of the week linked to the rise in bond yields after the publication on Friday of the monthly report on American employment, which came out more vigorous than expected. VALUES TO FOLLOW AT WALL STREET
Alphabet fell 1.4% in pre-market trading as the US Department of Justice could ask a judge to force Google, a subsidiary of the group, to separate from certain of its activities, such as Chrome and Android.
VALUES IN EUROPE Kering gains almost 2% after the announcement of the appointment of Stefano Cantino as CEO of Gucci from January 1, 2025.
Continental jumped 6.62%, leading the Stoxx 600. The German equipment manufacturer expects an improvement in its automotive activity in the third quarter of 2024.
Aixtron fell 2.24% as Deutsche Bank lowered its rating from “buy” to “hold” on the German chip systems maker due to a deteriorating outlook in the power semiconductors sector. “).
British events organizer Informa grew by almost 1% following confirmation of its profit and turnover forecasts for this year.
RATES Bond yields in the euro zone are stable, close to their monthly lows reached last week while markets anticipate a 25 basis point cut in the ECB deposit rate next week.
The ten-year German Bund yield fell around two basis points, to 2.227%. That of the French OAT fell by one point, to 3.007%, on the eve of the presentation of the finance bill (PLF) for 2025 to the Council of Ministers. The yield difference between these two bonds, the “spread”, rises slightly to almost 78 basis points.
In the United States, the yield on ten-year Treasury bonds also varied little, down 1.9 basis points, to 4.0159%, on the eve of the publication of monthly consumer price figures in the country.
EXCHANGES The dollar strengthens slightly (+0.06%) against a basket of international currencies, consolidating its seven-week high touched last week, before the publication at 6:00 p.m. GMT of the minutes of the latest Fed meeting .
The New Zealand dollar fell to its lowest level since August 19 at $0.60705 on Wednesday after the country’s central bank (RBNZ) cut its main policy rate by 50 basis points and left the door open to even more aggressive monetary easing.
The euro is trading at 1.0966 dollars, down 0.13%.
The pound sterling stands at $1.3093 (-0.10%), close to a three-week low reached on Monday at $1.30595.
OIL
Oil prices fell slightly on Wednesday, as weak demand for crude outweighed the risk of supply disruption linked to the conflict in the Middle East and Hurricane Milton in the United States.
Brent lost 0.09% to $77.11 per barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) fell 0.22% to $73.41.
METALS
Gold fell again, for the sixth consecutive session, very close to its two-week low reached on Tuesday due to the decline in prospects for monetary easing by the Fed.
Around 11:00 GMT, spot gold fell 0.04% to $2,621.17 per ounce, after falling to $2,608.97.
NO MORE MAJOR INDICATOR ON THE AGENDA FOR OCTOBER 9
(Writing by Claude Chendjou, edited by Kate Entringer)
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I have over 8 years of experience working in the news industry. I have worked as a reporter, editor, and now managing editor at 247 News Agency. I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the news website and overseeing all of the content that is published. I also write a column for the website, covering mostly market news.
