The Euronext stock exchange in the business district of La Défense in Paris
by Blandine Henault
PARIS (Reuters) – European stock markets ended in mixed order on Wednesday after a hesitant session, marked by lingering fears about Chinese growth and questions about the trajectory of interest rates in the United States.
In Paris, the CAC 40 ended down 0.1% at 7,260.25 points. Britain’s Footsie fell 0.44% while Germany’s Dax gained 0.14%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index lost 0.1%, the FTSEurofirst 300 lost 0.07% and the Stoxx 600 lost 0.06%.
The easing on the bond market was a support factor for the European indices, but caution remained in order during this summer period in the face of fears about the slowdown in Chinese growth.
Industrial production figures in the United States, which came out better than expected, confirmed the resilience of the American economy and fueled the debate on keeping rates high longer than expected.
In this respect, the publication at 6:00 p.m. GMT of the minutes of the last Federal Reserve (Fed) monetary policy meeting will be closely followed.
VALUES
Leading the Stoxx 600, the British insurer Admiral Group climbed 7.2% after the announcement of a slight increase in its half-year profit before tax thanks to higher premiums. Its competitor Aviva, which also announced an increase in its profit in the first half, gained 0.9%.
Strongest sectoral increase, the compartment of the distribution took 0.87%, to sign its third consecutive session in the green.
AT WALL STREET
At closing time in Europe, the New York Stock Exchange is moving in disorganized fashion, for lack of clear-cut positions before the Fed’s “minutes”.
The Dow Jones gained 0.16%, the S&P 500 was virtually stable while the Nasdaq fell 0.43%.
The distribution sector stands out after the acclaimed results of Target and while its competitor Walmart is due to publish its accounts on Thursday.
THE INDICATORS OF THE DAY
In addition to the figures for industrial production in the United States, investors learned of the same figures for the euro zone.
In the European bloc, industrial production rose 0.5% in June while a decline of 0.1% was expected by economists polled by Reuters.
Growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in the euro zone was also confirmed at 0.3% in the second quarter.
RATE
Sovereign bond yields fell after rising the previous day on high rate expectations for longer than expected.
The ten-year German Bund yield fell nearly three basis points to 2.649% after hitting 2.729% the previous day, the highest since March.
That of Treasuries with the same maturity stabilized at 4.22% after falling to 4.17% in session. It had hit a peak of 4.274% the day before, the highest since October 2022.
The only exception, the yield on Britain’s ten-year Gilt rose almost six basis points to 4.647% after UK inflation data showed underlying price inflation remained elevated in July.
CHANGES
The pound sterling is on the way to achieving its strongest daily increase in nearly two weeks against the dollar (+0.33%), also driven by the latest inflation figures across the Channel.
The Chinese yuan is moving to a nine-month low, weighed down by fears about Chinese economic growth.
The euro is stable against the greenback, on the threshold of 1.09 dollar.
OIL
Crude prices are changing little, torn on the one hand between fears about Chinese growth and the announcement on the other hand of a sharper than expected decline in weekly crude inventories in the United States.
The barrel of Brent from the North Sea fell 0.19% to 84.73 dollars and that of American light crude oil (WTI) lost 0.3% to 80.75 dollars.
(Written by Blandine Hénault)