by Claude Chendjou

PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets, apart from Frankfurt, ended lower on Tuesday due to fears about the health of the Chinese economy after the publication of indicators considered disappointing on exports and imports.

In Paris, the CAC 40, rich in luxury values, a sector very exposed to China, ended down 1.14% at 7,394.78 points. The British Footsie lost 0.86%, pulled down by basic resource values, also sensitive to China. The German Dax resisted the downward trend, gaining 0.02%, thanks in particular to the defensive health and real estate sectors.

The EuroStoxx 50 index fell by 0.67%, the FTSEurofirst 300 by 0.52% and the Stoxx 600 by 0.50%.

European luxury and commodity indices fell 1.55% and 0.66% respectively as statistics showed China’s exports slowed in November and imports declined unexpectedly.

At the close in Europe, the Dow Jones advanced by 0.04%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 by 0.01% and the Nasdaq by 0.14%. This last index reached a record during the session at 19,887.08 points. The positive trend on Wall Street is driven by the communication services compartment (+2.45%) which also recorded a peak at 349.11 points.

Risk-taking is however limited pending the publication on Wednesday of the consumer price index (CPI) for the month of November.

This statistic, one of the very last important ones before the December 17-18 meeting of the American Federal Reserve (Fed), could influence the trajectory of interest rates.

If a rate cut seems certain this month, uncertainty remains for the future due to the promises deemed inflationary by Donald Trump, who will officially take office in January.

VALUES IN EUROPE

Unibail-Rodamo-Westfield fell 3.05% after the sale of the group’s shares by a major shareholder.

Euroapi fell by 26.73%, the French manufacturer of active ingredients having announced Monday evening the appointment of a new president and a new general director.

Sartorius gained 6.38% with the appointment of Michael Grosse as head of the German supplier of pharmaceutical and laboratory equipment.

Allianz lost 0.66% after presenting its financial objectives for 2025-2027.

Ashtead fell 14.03% after a warning on its annual profit and the presentation of a plan to move its main listing location from London to New York.

INDICATOR OF THE DAY

German inflation reached 2.4% in November, according to preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office.

CHANGES

The dollar rose 0.41% on Tuesday against a basket of reference currencies on the eve of the publication of data on American inflation.

The euro fell by 0.48%, to 1.0501 dollars, while the European Central Bank (ECB) must make its monetary policy decision on Thursday. Some analysts believe that the institution could be tempted to remove from its message the mention of maintaining key rates at a “sufficiently restrictive” level.

RATE

The ten-year German Bund yield ended stable, at 2.119%, and its French equivalent also varied little, at 2.872%.

The “spread” between these two bonds is around 75 basis points while President Emmanuel Macron is still looking for a Prime Minister since the departure of Michel Barnier.

In the United States, the yield on ten-year Treasury bonds rose by 4.1 basis points, to 4.2399%.

OIL

Oil prices rise on Tuesday as concerns in the Middle East take precedence over Chinese economic data.

Brent rose 0.75% to $72.68 per barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) advanced 0.92% to $67.01.

(Writing by Claude Chendjou, edited by Kate Entringer)

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