by Claude Chendjou

PARIS (Reuters) – Wall Street is expected to be almost stable on Thursday following the records of two of its three main indices, while the European stock markets are showing slight variations after the peaks recorded the day before.

The underlying trend, however, remains cautious with gold above $4,000 per ounce. Investors are monitoring developments in France where a new Prime Minister is expected, while in the United States the “shutdown” continues and in the Middle East a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip has been announced. New York index futures signal an almost unchanged Wall Street opening for the Dow Jones, the Standard & Poor’s 500 and the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at record highs on Wednesday, still driven by hopes placed in artificial intelligence (AI).

In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.20% to 8,075.44 points around 11:50 GMT, driven mainly by the defensive “utilities” sector (+1.16%). In Frankfurt, the Dax advanced 0.26% after hitting an unprecedented peak during the session at 24,708.97 points. In London, the FTSE fell by 0.40% the day after its record at 9,577.08 points.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index fell by 0.24% and the EuroStoxx 50 of the euro zone by 0.10%. The Stoxx 600 fell 0.22% after peaking at 574.32 points on Wednesday.

In Europe, the market is consolidating with declines in the banking sector (-1.05%) and the automobile sector (-3.77%), while the basic resources sector (+0.56%) and the transport and leisure sector (+0.36%) offer some support.

Across the Atlantic, the day after the publication of the “minutes” of the American Federal Reserve (Fed) which show that the institution is concerned about increased risks for employment and wants to be cautious on inflation, many officials of the central bank must speak, including its president Jerome Powell.

VALUES TO FOLLOW AT WALL STREET

PepsiCo gained 1.5% in pre-market trading after exceeding Wall Street expectations on Thursday with quarterly turnover and profit against a backdrop of solid demand for its energy drinks and sodas in the United States.

Delta Air Lines jumped 5.6% in pre-market trading after presenting on Thursday optimistic forecasts for the end of the year thanks to better than expected profit for the third quarter. Its competitors American Airlines, United Airlines, JetBlue and Southwest Airlines advance by 1.5% to 4% in pre-market trading.

VALUES IN EUROPE

Danone climbs 4.08%, its highest since mid-September, as JPMorgan analysts have revised upwards their forecasts for the agri-food group’s third quarter results.

Sopra Steria, which announced the departure of its CEO, fell 3.0%, while Alten gained 1.28% after announcing a reorganization of its governance with the separation of the functions of president and CEO.

Worldline drops 2.66% Morgan Stanley having gone from “online weighting” to “underweight” on the value.

Novo Nordisk lost 1.93% after announcing the acquisition of Akero Therapeutics for $4.7 billion in cash, as well as $500 million conditional on the achievement of certain objectives.

HSBC fell 6.02% as the bank offered to delist its subsidiary Hang Seng Bank for around $13.6 billion.

Ferrari plunges 12.5% ​​after the presentation of its new strategic plan which plans to maintain gasoline and hybrid models at the heart of its range in the years to come, while fully electric vehicles should only represent 20% of its range by 2030.

Porsche fell by 2.02%, its global sales having fallen over nine months, weighed down by China.

RATE

The yield on ten-year French bonds stabilizes at 3.50%, as fears of early elections in France subside and a new Prime Minister is expected.

The yield on the ten-year German Bund, the benchmark for the euro zone, is also stable, at 2.68%, while the spread between the Bund and the ten-year OAT has fallen back to around 81 basis points. The ten-year US Treasury yield is virtually unchanged at 4.11%, pending interventions from Fed members like Jerome Powell, Michelle Bowman, Michael Barr and Mary Daly.

CHANGES

The dollar is stalling against a basket of international currencies after a significant rally since the start of the week which took it to a two-month peak. The greenback benefited from the weakening of the euro in the context of the political crisis in France and the difficulties of the yen with the probable arrival in power in Japan of Sanae Takaichi, whose policy could be expansionist.

The euro fell 0.09%, to 1.1615 dollars, after hitting its lowest level since the end of August on Wednesday. The single European currency lost almost 1% this week.

In terms of today’s indicator, German exports showed a surprise drop in August of 0.5%, data from the Federal Statistical Office show.

The pound sterling is trading at $1.3375, down 0.22%.

OIL

The oil market fell on Thursday as investors assessed the scope of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza likely to ease tensions in the Middle East, while peace negotiations in Ukraine made no progress.

Brent fell by 0.47% to $65.94 per barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) declined by 0.56% to $62.19.

METALS

The price of spot gold remains above $4,000 per ounce on Thursday, investors digesting the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, while geopolitical and economic uncertainty as well as expectations of rate cuts in the United States continue to carry the yellow metal.

Around 11:20 GMT, gold was trading at $4,039.82 per ounce after the record hit on Wednesday at $4,059.05.

NO MORE MAJOR ECONOMIC INDICATOR ON TODAY’S AGENDA

(Writing by Claude Chendjou, edited by Kate Entringer)

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