by Pauline Foret

(Reuters) – Wall Street is expected to be in disarray while the European stock markets advance a little more cautiously at mid-session on Friday, with the markets digesting developments in the war in Ukraine and the latest economic data in the euro zone and speculating on the policies of future American president Donald Trump.

New York index futures signal Wall Street opening in search of direction, indicating a small increase of 0.01% for the Dow Jones, and a small decrease of 0.09% for the Standard & Poor’s 500 from 0, 21% for the Nasdaq.

In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.13% to 7,222.77 points around 12:59 GMT. In Frankfurt, the Dax rose by 0.41% and in London, the FTSE 100 rose by 1.03%.

The EuroStoxx 50 index is up 0.19%, the FTSEurofirst 300 is up 0.64% and the Stoxx 600 is up 0.70%.

Worried about an escalation in the war in Ukraine, where Russia launched a new type of hypersonic missile on Thursday after Kyiv used American and British missiles for the first time against targets in Russian territory and Moscow eased its nuclear doctrine, investors are retreating into safe values ​​such as gold or oil.

On the macroeconomic side, data on Thursday showed that weekly jobless claims numbers hit their lowest level in several months, suggesting that U.S. job growth resumed in November after slowing for the month precedent against a backdrop of hurricanes and strikes.

The eyes of the markets are also fixed on the preparation for the arrival of Donald Trump at the White House, awaiting the appointment of a Treasury Secretary. Traders expect his administration’s policies to boost consumer prices, instigate trade wars and favor cryptocurrencies.

European stock markets lost part of their progress mid-session after the publication of an S&P Global survey showing that private sector activity in the euro zone contracted unexpectedly in November.

Global markets are also suffering from the sharp decline in Chinese stocks, weighed down by concerns about Donald Trump’s policies and a flurry of company results considered disappointing. VALUES TO FOLLOW AT WALL STREET

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, recently began considering developing a search engine, which could overshadow Google, which is the main player in the market, according to an article in The Information published Thursday.

U.S.-listed Chinese companies fell in pre-market trading, following in the footsteps of stocks listed in Hong Kong and China, which had a tough Friday amid disappointing corporate results and concerns over of the turn that future American President Donald Trump’s policy will take on the subject of China.

VALUES IN EUROPE

Thalès lost 5.67% after indicating on Thursday that it was the target of an investigation in France and the United Kingdom for alleged acts of corruption.

Nexans sells 2.48% after the sale of a 5% stake in the French group by the Luksic family, the richest in Chile.

RATE

In the United States, Treasuries fall somewhat as investors expect Donald Trump’s arrival in the White House to revive inflation, dampening hopes of a further rate cut by the Reserve federal.

The yield on ten-year Treasuries fell 3.6 basis points to 4.3963%, and two-year Treasuries lost 1.7 basis points to 4.3324%.

In Germany, bond yields fell after the release of data on the euro zone services sector, which showed that Europe’s largest economy suffered the fifth consecutive fall in the sector.

The ten-year German Bund yield fell 6 basis points to 2.2530% and the two-year yield fell 10.2 basis points to 2.2300%.

CHANGES

Faced with the unexpected decline in the services sector in the euro zone, the single currency tumbled to its lowest level in two years, falling 0.66% to settle at 1.0404 dollars.

The British pound suffered the same fate after the publication of data showing that retail sales fell much more than expected in the United Kingdom in October, losing 0.65% against the dollar.

Galvanized by these losses, the greenback advanced 0.58% against a basket of reference currencies.

OIL

Oil prices fell somewhat on Friday after having advanced earlier in the day against a backdrop of escalation of the war in Ukraine and an announced increase in Chinese imports in November.

Brent lost 0.54% to $73.83 per barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) fell 0.61% to $69.67.

METALS

Gold gained 1.1% to 2,688 dollars (2,582 euros) per ounce on Friday, investors retreating to safe values ​​after this week’s escalation in the war in Ukraine.

(Written by Pauline Foret, edited by Augustin Turpin)

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