by Claude Chendjou

PARIS (Reuters) – The European scholarships finished on a sharp rise Thursday with a CAC 40 which was returned above the 8,000 -point mark and a Dax in Frankfurt which hit a record.

The positive trend in Europe has been fueled by an avalanche of business results that have been very solid in finance and basic resources.

In Paris, the CAC 40 ended on a gain of 1.47% to 8.007.62 points. The German Dax increased by 1.52%, registering a historic summit at 21,921.02 points. The British Footsie advanced 1.21%.

The Eurostoxx 50 index increased by 1.62% and the FTSEUROFITS 300 of 1.24%. The stoxx 600, which also affected an unprecedented peak at 545.46 points, ended with a gain of 1.17%, with an increase of 4.02% for raw materials, of 3.20% for banks and 1.02% for financial services.

At the time of the fence in Europe, the Dow Jones fell 0.34%, but the Standard & Poor’s 500 advances by 0.13%and the Nasdaq by 0.10%.

The attention of investors is again focused on the evolution of interest rates in the world and technological values ​​after the upheavals at the start of the week linked to the fears of a world trade war.

The Bank of England (BOE) lowered its main key rate of a quarter of a point on Thursday, to 4.50%, and half reduced its forecast for economic growth, strengthening anticipations of a more marked monetary easing this year, With a terminal rate now seen at 3.75% against 4.10% a month ago.

The term contracts now show a relaxation of the rates of the American Federal Reserve (Fed), which meets next month, of around 45 base points by the end of the year.

The publication on Friday of the monthly employment report in the United States could strengthen these anticipations of reduction of borrowing costs. The reuters consensus provides for a slowdown in creations of non-agricultural posts in the United States at 170,000 in January after 256,000 in the previous month, a stable unemployment rate at 4.1% and a stagnation of wage growth at 0.3% over a month.

Values ​​in Europe

Société Générale jumped 13.17% after announcing a doubling of its profit in the fourth quarter and reports a rebound in the retail bank in France.

ArcelorMittal climbed 13.34%, the group that said to expect the demand for steel to increase for exercise 2025.

Kering took 3.08% after Gucci announcements. The group’s Italian fashion house said Thursday ending its collaboration with the director of creation Sabato de Sarno.

Astrazeneca increased by 5.93%, the laboratory having announced to anticipate sales for 2025 better than expected after a quarterly turnover above expectations.

Maersk climbed 6.35% after publishing a profit in the fourth quarter higher than forecasts. Aurubis advanced 7.43% after announcing a profit before taxes in the first quarter higher than market expectations.

The indicators of the day

Unemployed registrations increased in the United States during the week on February 1 to 219,000 against 208,000 (revised) the previous week, according to the Labor Department.

Retail sales in the euro zone fell more than expected from one month to the next in December, by 0.2%, show Eurostat data, the European Union Statistical Office.

Industry orders in Germany increased much more than expected in December, driven by substantial growth in planes, ships, trains and military vehicles, according to the Federal Statistics Office.

Changes

The Sterling book is on the defensive Thursday, backing up 0.62% to $ 1.2,430 at the time of the fence of scholarships in Europe, after losing more than 1% in session, a hollow of eight of weeks against the ticket Green. Two members of the BOE MPC voted for a drop of 50 basic points in the bank’s rates.

The US dollar featured 0.23% in the face of a basket of reference currencies, while the euro yields 0.33% to 1.0369 dollars.

RATE

The yield of American treasury bills at ten years earns three base points, at 4.4522%, but it remains close to a hollow of more than a month.

The yield of the British Gilt takes 4.3 base points, at 4.481% after fluctuating in session between a lower at 4.38% and a higher at 4.48%. The yield of the Gilt to two years, more sensitive to expectations on the evolution of borrowing costs, is practically stable, at 4.159%, after having touched a hollow in session since October, at 4.07%.

Investors have struggled to digest the new forecasts for economic growth and inflation from the Bank of England which complicate the prospects on British assets, including the fear of stagflation.

In the euro zone, the yield of the German Bund at ten years took 1.3 base points, at 2.373%. Its French equivalent advanced 1.6 points, to 3.086%. The gap between those two obligations was reduced around 71 basic points while the government of François Bayrou escaped censorship on Wednesday, allowing an adoption of the 2025 budget in Parliament.

OIL

The oil market rises slightly on Thursday after Saudi Aramco highly noted its crude prices for March: Brent increased by 0.15% to 74.70 dollars per barrel and light American crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) of 0, 13% to $ 71.12.

(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Blandine Hénault)

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