by Claude Chendjou

PARIS (Reuters) – The main European scholarships finished practically unchanged on Wednesday while Wall Street was on low mid -session variations while waiting for the announcements of the American Federal Reserve (Fed) in the evening.

In Paris, the CAC 40 finished on a loss of 0.40%to 7,786.98 points, penalized in particular by BNP Paribas (-2.01%) and Crédit Agricole SA (-1.09%), on profit taking.

The British footsie advanced 0.14% and the German Dax increased by 0.08%.

The Eurostoxx 50 index lost 0.09%, the FTSEUROFIRST 300 0.06%and the Stoxx 600 0.05%.

At the time of the fence in Europe, the Dow Jones advances 0.68%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 lost 0.13%and the Nasdaq 0.54%.

The positive trend in Europe was mainly supported by the compartment of new technologies (+1.49%), while banks (-0.43%) weighed.

European actions have been evolving in a narrow range since the beginning of the month, due to political tensions in France and uncertainty about the impact of American customs duties on the profits of companies.

The central bankers have dominated the attention of the markets with the Bank of Canada (BOC) which decided to lower its main key rate to 2.5%, the lowest level in three years and the first reduction in six months. The Fed should follow in the evening with a first softening of its rates widely anticipated by investors since the last decrease in December 2024.

The main unknown relates to the future trajectory of Fed rates, the economic forecasts of the Central Bank and the words of its President Jerome Powell in a context of high pressure from the White House for a rapid drop in loan costs.

“There will be between two and three (rate drops) this year,” said Roland Kaloyan, head of the European actions strategy at Société Générale.

After the FED, the Bank of England (BOE) and the Bank of Norway must make their decisions respective on Thursday, while that of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) is expected on Friday.

Values ​​in Europe

Stmicroelectronics took 1.13% after the announcement of an investment in its Tours factory (Indre-et-Loire) to develop a pilot production line for advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology.

Eutelsat sold 3.27%, signing one of the largest withdrawal on the SBF 120, after the lowering of the alphavalue recommendation on the value.

Puma flew by 16.78% while two investors are preparing to make a public purchasing offer on the German sportswear manufacturer, according to information from Manager Magazin.

Prosiebensat.1 fell 2.44% after the lowering of its 2025 forecasts.

SAP took 3.20%. Jefferies said that an informal discussion with the financial director of the German group suggests a resilience of the cloud activity and available cash flow prospects.

Prosus advanced 3.06%, touching a record in Amsterdam, following the technological values ​​rally in Hong Kong, notably Tencent, of which the Dutch group holds significant participation.

Novo Nordisk won 2.90% thanks to the recovery of the Berenberg recommendation to “keep” to “buy”.

Centrica jumped 3.58%, Morgan Stanley having placed the British energy group in its priority list.

The indicators of the day

Inflation in the euro zone remained stable in August, at 2.0% at an annual rate, in accordance with the target of 2% set by the European Central Bank (BCE), which further strengthens the arguments in favor of a status quo on the guiding rates, show the final figures published by Eurostat.

Consumer prices in Great Britain increased by 3.8% over a year in August, according to data from the National Statistical Office (ONS).

Changes

The dollar rises by 0.10% against a basket of reference currencies before the Fed announcements.

The euro fell by 0.16%, to 1.1847 dollars, but the American currency remains at a hollow of four years in front of the European currency.

The Sterling book is exchanged at 1.3657 dollars (+0.09%) on the eve of the Bank of England’s decision.

RATE

The yield of American treasury bills at ten years takes on a basic point, at 4.0355%, almost causing the Fed.

That of the German Bund in the same maturity sold at the end 1.7 base points, to 2.677%.

Its French equivalent finished stable, at 3.4869%, while the leaders of the Socialist Party (PS) said on Wednesday that they remained “on their hunger” after being received in Matignon by the new Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu as part of his consultations on France’s budget for 2026.

The yield gap between the Bund and the OAT at ten years remains above the 81 base points.

OIL

The oil market is withdrawn after taking more than 1% on Tuesday, investors evaluating the risks linked to Russian supply following Ukrainian drone attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure.

The Brent refuses 0.70% to 68 dollars per barrel and the American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) declines 0.73% to 64.08 dollars.

(Written by Claude Chendjou)

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