PARIS (Reuters) – European stock markets ended moderately higher on Monday, caution having dominated trading at the start of a week full of publications and economic and monetary events.

In Paris, the CAC 40 increased by 0.32% to 7,602.06 points, while the German Dax rose by 0.66% and the British Footsie strengthened by 0.47%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index ended the session with an increase of 0.69%, while the FTSEurofirst 300 recorded a gain of 0.52% and the Stoxx 600 gained 0.48%.

In the euro zone, investors are preparing for the next meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday, at the end of which the institution is expected to announce a cut in its rates of 25 basis points.

The final French inflation on Tuesday, as well as European industrial production and the German sentiment indicator ZEW will allow investors to understand to what extent the European economy is slowing, and the extent of monetary support that the ECB will have to provide.

Across the Atlantic, several indicators, including retail sales on Thursday, are expected this week.

American activity appears robust, which could decide the Federal Reserve to only lower rates by 25 basis points during its next meeting.

Investors’ attention will also be focused on company results, the publication season having started on Friday in the United States. In the euro zone, LVMH and Ericsson will publish their figures on Tuesday, while ASML will publish its figures on Wednesday.

The pace of publications will accelerate from Thursday, with figures from around ten major groups, including Pernod Ricard, Publicis, Nestle and Nokia, expected today.

In the United States, 41 constituents of the S&P 500 index will publish their figures this week, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Citigroup.

China also announced a plan to support its economy on Saturday, which disappointed investors with its lack of details. Observers believe that this weekend’s announcements will not be enough to revive an activity that has been at a standstill for many months.

A WALL STREET

Wall Street is progressing at mid-session, supported by the performance of Nvidia which is approaching a record.

At closing time in Europe, trading on the New York Stock Exchange indicated an increase of 0.27% for the Dow Jones, compared to 0.6% for the Standard & Poor’s 500, and 0.63% for the Nasdaq Composite.

VALUES

The luxury sector, particularly exposed to China, suffered. LVMH, which will publish its quarterly results on Tuesday, Hermès and even Kering lost between 0.7% and 3.6%.

Pluxee lost 2.92% after Goldman Sachs lowered its recommendation on the stock to “sell”.

Mulberry gained 17.78% after it said it was working with advisers to evaluate Frasers’ new takeover offer.

Ashmore reported on Monday an increase in its assets under management, driven by positive investment performance to $3.2 billion (€2.93 billion), which pushed the stock up 5, 86%.

The commodities sector posted the worst sector performance on the Stoxx 600 index, falling 1.47% as investors worried about the outlook for Chinese demand.

RATE

European yields ended stable in the absence of a catalyst, while American rates markets closed on Monday.

The yield on the German ten-year ended stable at 2.276%, that of the two-year rate remained at 2.259%.

CHANGES

Investors remain uncertain about China’s economic trajectory, putting pressure on the euro and supporting the dollar.

The greenback gained 0.31% against a basket of reference currencies, the euro eroded by 0.21% to 1.0914 dollars, and the pound sterling lost 0.13% to 1.3049 dollars.

OIL

Crude prices are falling after OPEC further lowered its global demand forecast for 2024 and 2025, which fueled fears about demand from China, the world’s largest importer.

Brent fell by 1.82% to $77.6 per barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) weakened by 1.95% to $74.09.

(Written by Corentin Chappron, edited by Blandine Hénault)

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