(CercleFinance.com) – The Paris Stock Exchange is expected to open without much change on Thursday, with caution continuing to prevail ahead of several economic indicators and on the eve of American employment figures.
Around 8:15 a.m., the ‘futures’ contract on the CAC 40 index – April delivery – is trading at 8161.5 points, down six small points, suggesting a moderate decline in the very first exchanges.
After having had a great start to the year, the Parisian market has lost some of its momentum since the end of March in the absence of any impetus likely to maintain the upward movement.
If the upcoming session promises to be relatively calm, discussions will still be lively during the morning by the publication of the latest PMI activity indicators in Europe.
In its preliminary version, the composite PMI of the euro zone was a hair (49.9) away from leaving the contraction zone (below 50 points) within which it has now been operating since June 2023.
But analysts point out that the improvement in recent months is mainly due to a revival of activity in southern European countries, while France and Germany remain lagging behind.
Investors’ attention will also begin to turn to the United States, on the eve of the monthly report from the Department of Labor, which could relaunch the debate on the need for future rate cuts from the Fed.
The better than expected results of the ADP firm’s survey on employment in the private sector, published yesterday, have called this scenario into question, but the weakness of the manufacturing ISM seems to argue for monetary easing.
As a prelude to the employment report, investors will monitor the weekly figures for jobless claims in the United States at 2:30 p.m.
Investors will also continue to closely monitor the impact of the rise in oil prices, with a barrel of light American crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) now peaking at its highest levels since October.
‘Long positions in oil (Brent and WTI) are at a five-month high,’ comment the teams at DeftHedge, a designer of decision support software for managing foreign exchange and commodity risks.
‘At issue: the uncertainty over Russian supplies, which has notably led to a sharp increase in diesel prices in recent sessions’, underline the platform’s analysts.
Gold follows suit and reaches new absolute records above $2,300 per ounce, with undeniable buying interest.
“Even individual investors, who until then were positioned for sale, are getting involved,” underlines DeftHedge. ‘Over the last week, investment funds have strengthened their long positions,’ says the risk manager.
Copyright © 2024 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.
Did you like this article ? Share it with your friends using the buttons below.
