by Claude Chendjou

PARIS (Reuters) – European stock markets ended an up-and-down session in the green on Thursday, while Wall Street was hesitant halfway through, the technology sector being particularly volatile after Nvidia’s results and the threat of dismantling of Alphabet.

In Paris, the CAC 40 ended up 0.21% at 7,213.32 points. The British Footsie advanced 0.79% and the German Dax rose 0.75%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index gained 0.58%, the FTSEurofirst 300 advanced 0.53% and the Stoxx 600 gained 0.47%, allowing the latter index to return to green after four consecutive sessions in the red .

At the close in Europe, the Dow Jones rose by 0.86% and the Standard & Poor’s 500 by 0.19%, while the Nasdaq lost 0.46%. The New York indices all opened in the green before falling into the red and then partly returning to positive territory.

European markets were supported by energy stocks (+1.26%) in a context of worsening tensions between Russia and Ukraine. According to Kyiv, Moscow fired a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine, in retaliation for the Ukrainian army’s use of long-range American missiles.

The session in Europe was up and down, notably due to Nvidia, the world’s largest market capitalization, whose stock fluctuated as investors digested the group’s results and forecasts. Nvidia beat expectations for quarterly profit, but the semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) giant said it expects its weakest revenue growth in seven quarters, while its adjusted gross margin slowed.

Nvidia shares, indicated in pre-market trading down more than 3%, opened in the green, before again erasing their gains during the session. At the close of markets in Europe, the stock lost 1.65%.

Another major disappointment across the Atlantic, Alphabet fell by 6.44%, heading towards its largest daily decline since the end of January, while the American Department of Justice asked the group to part with its Chrome browser and take further steps to end its monopoly on online search.

VALUES IN EUROPE

Soitec climbed 7.40% after confirming its outlook for the 2025 financial year and announcing a new chairman for its board of directors.

Technip Energies lost 2.54% after the group presented its new medium and long-term outlook.

Tikehau Capital advanced 0.48% after announcing that it was considering a dual listing or an outright transfer to the New York Stock Exchange.

Novartis ended in the green (+0.64%) thanks to the increase in its medium-term sales forecasts.

Julius Baer jumped 4.71%, the Swiss bank having announced on Thursday a resumption of net inflows between July and October.

Volkswagen fell 0.64% as a strike in the manufacturer’s German factories looms if a wage agreement is not found within ten days.

JD Sports Fashion plunged 15.50% as the British sportswear retailer warned its annual profit would be at the lower end of its forecast.

TODAY’S INDICATORS

Unemployment claims decreased in the United States during the week ending November 16, to 213,000 compared to 219,000 (revised) the previous week, according to the Labor Department.

Business conditions in the Philadelphia region deteriorated in November, with the “Philly Fed” index at -5.5 after 10.3 in October.

The business climate in industry in France increased in November compared to the previous month, to 97 points, according to the INSEE business survey.

CHANGES

The dollar strengthened Thursday in lively trading as investors weighed the latest labor market data and comments from Federal Reserve officials. The President of the Richmond Fed, Tom Barkin, estimated in an interview with the Financial Times that the United States was more vulnerable to inflationary shocks than in the past.

The dollar index gained 0.28% on Thursday against a basket of reference currencies, to 106.92 points, not far from the one-year high reached last week, at 107.07.

The euro lost 0.49% to 1.0491 dollars and the pound sterling 0.36% to 1.2604 dollars.

Bitcoin came close to the $100,000 threshold after rising to the unprecedented level of $98,367, with investors betting on a more favorable regulatory approach to cryptocurrencies under the presidency of Donald Trump.

RATE

German sovereign bond yields fell slightly and the spread with France widened, with markets assessing ongoing geopolitical tensions while awaiting monthly PMI activity survey results due on Wednesday.

The yield on the ten-year German Bund lost three basis points (bp) at the close, to 2.313%, and that of the two-year fell by 2.2 bp, to 2.103%.

The spread between French and German yields, an indicator of the premium investors demand to hold French debt, widened by four bps, to 78.8 bps, after reaching 70.9 bps last week, its lowest level since October 31.

Analysts point out that the debate around France’s 2025 budget has lasted for more than a month while the National Rally (RN) brandished on Wednesday the threat of censorship of Michel Barnier’s government if the finance bill ( PLF) for 2025 reduces the purchasing power of the French.

The ten-year OAT yield ended stable, at 3.101%.

On the monetary front, François Villeroy de Galhau, member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB), declared Thursday that the increase in customs duties planned by the next American administration would not change the inflation outlook in Europe .

In the United States, the yield on ten-year Treasury bonds rose by 1.6 basis points, to 4.4218%.

OIL

The oil market is driven by fears of worsening tensions between Russia and Ukraine, relegating to secondary importance the impact of a greater than expected increase in American crude stocks.

Brent rose 1.40% to $73.84 per barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) rose 1.53% to $69.80.

“Today’s rally is entirely linked to Russia and Ukraine,” said Ole Hansen, analyst at Saxo Bank, adding that soaring natural gas prices in Europe and the United States also support the walk.

TO BE CONTINUED FRIDAY:

(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Sophie Louet)

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