Photo archives: The Palais Brongniart, former Paris Stock Exchange
by Claude Chendjou
PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets are expected to be slightly lower at the opening after five consecutive sessions in the green linked to the hope of an imminent end to the monetary tightening cycle of the Federal Reserve which began in March 2022.
According to the first indications available, the Parisian CAC 40 should decline by 0.1% at the opening, the Dax in Frankfurt by 0.07% and the FTSE 100 in London by 0.08%. The EuroStoxx 50 index is expected to fall by 0.07%.
The equity markets, buoyed in recent sessions by the drop in inflationary pressures in the United States with regard to the monthly figures for consumer prices (CPI) and producer prices (PPI), should catch their breath on Friday with the unofficial start to the US corporate earnings season.
Second-quarter financials from major Wall Street banks like JPMorgan, Citi and Wells Fargo are expected before the opening of trading in New York. According to data from Refinitiv, earnings for S&P-500 companies are expected to decline 6.4% year on year in the past quarter. The so-called universal banks, which have both retail and corporate customers, should however show a jump in their profits, again according to Refinitiv, thanks in particular to the increase in interest rates on loans.
AT WALL STREET
The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Thursday, supported by slowing inflation in the United States. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.14%, or 47.71 points, to 34,395.14 points.
The broader S&P-500 gained 37.88 points, or 0.85%, to 4,510.04 points. The Nasdaq Composite advanced for its part by 219.61 points (1.58%) to 14,138.57 points.
Data released by the US Department of Labor showed producer prices rose less than expected, while consumer price figures, released the day before, showed the weakest annual advance since March 2021.
These indicators have fueled hopes that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will soon end raising its rates.
In values, Delta Air Lines and PepsiCo benefited from higher targets, while Google’s parent company Alphabet was sought after the announcement of the deployment in Europe and Brazil of Bard, its artificial intelligence software. generative.
IN ASIA
On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei index ended down 0.09% at 32,391.26 points and the wider Topix lost 0.17% at 2,239.1 points, after a volatile session, led by the values of semiconductors such as Advantest (+5.74%) or Tokyo Electron (+1.76%).
The MSCI index comprising stocks from Asia and the Pacific (excluding Japan) rose 0.86% and is heading for a weekly gain of 5.6%, the largest in eight months.
In China, the SSE Composite of Shanghai takes 0.16% and the CSI 300 nibbles 0.08%.
EXCHANGES/RATES
The dollar, at a 15-month low on expectations of the end of the rate hike in the United States, is trying to rebound (+0.02%) against a basket of benchmark currencies.
The euro, which hit a 16-month high, is trading at $1.1217 (-0.06%).
The Australian dollar lost 0.16% to 0.688 US dollars after the appointment of Michele Bullock as head of the Australian central bank on Friday, becoming the first woman to hold this position in Australia.
The yield on ten-year US Treasury bills rose about two basis points to 3.7812%, after falling the day before to a two-week low of 3.761%. The yield of the German Bund with the same maturity is stable, at 2.457%.
OIL
The oil market is heading for a third straight week of gains for the first time since April, on the prospect of tighter supply as Libya and Nigeria face supply disruptions.
Brent climbed 0.06% to 81.41 dollars a barrel and US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) 0.09% to 76.96 dollars.
(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Kate Entringer)