by Claude Chendjou
PARIS (Reuters) – European stock markets ended down on Friday and on Wall Street, two of the three indices were also in the red late morning in New York in a volatile session marked by the publication of contrasting results from American retail giants. finance, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and questions about the trajectory of interest rates.
In Paris, the CAC 40 ended down 1.42% at 7,003.53 points. The British Footsie lost 0.59% and the German Dax lost 1.55%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index fell by 1.48%, the FTSEurofirst 300 by 0.87% and the Stoxx 600 by 0.98%.
Over the week as a whole, the CAC 40 lost 0.80%, while the Stoxx 600 managed to record a modest gain of 0.96%.
At the close in Europe, the Dow Jones rose by 0.14%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 fell by 0.40% and the Nasdaq by 1.12%.
The CBOE Volatility Index on Wall Street rose to a one-week high of 19.44 points.
If the quarterly publications of JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo (+3.48%) and Citigroup (+2.71%), helped by the high level of interest rates, were welcomed, that of BlackRock (-1.18 %) was disappointing, however, as the asset manager suffered a sharp drop in its net inflows in the third quarter.
The solid results of the major American banks allowed the three main indexes on Wall Street to open in the green, but the trend reversed throughout the session.
Bank results could suffer from a cut in interest rates from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) next year, some analysts say, while a mixed 30-year Treasury auction is currently putting bond yields under pressure.
Added to concerns about rates are tensions in the Middle East as Israel continues its reprisals against the Gaza Strip. According to sources, Israel also struck a Lebanese army post after a suspected armed incursion.
For JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, several geopolitical factors, including the war in Ukraine and the conflict in Israel, could keep inflation at high levels.
“This may be the most dangerous time the world has seen in decades,” he said.
VALUES IN EUROPE
In this context of geopolitical tensions, defense stocks were sought after, notably allowing the French group Thales to gain 1.12% and the German Rheinmetall to gain 0.19% despite a general decline in indices in Europe.
Sartorius plunged 16.74% after lowering its revenue and adjusted margin forecasts for this year.
British American Tobacco fell by 3.54% after a ban on the marketing in the United States of certain vaping flavors from its Vuse Alto brand.
TODAY’S INDICATORS
Household morale in the United States deteriorated more than expected in October, preliminary results of the monthly survey from the University of Michigan showed on Friday.
Inflation in France stood at 4.9% in September year-on-year, a figure in line with INSEE’s first estimate and stable compared to August.
Consumer prices in China were stable in September, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Industrial production in the euro zone increased more than expected in August month-on-month, but it contracted significantly on an annual basis, according to Eurostat.
EXCHANGES The dollar rose 0.12% against a basket of reference currencies after climbing 0.80% on Thursday to 106.6 points, its highest level in one session since March 15.
The euro is at $1.0507, down 0.18% and the pound sterling is trading at $1.214, down 0.27%.
RATE
Bond yields, which increased significantly on Thursday after the American CPI, fell on Friday: the American ten-year yielding nine basis points, to 4.6248%, while its German equivalent dropped around five points at the close, to 2. 73%.
The latter recorded its sharpest decline since July over the whole week, with the conflict between Israel and Hamas leading in particular to a retreat towards safe assets, which reduced their yield.
The President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, also declared on Friday that inflation was on track to return to 2%, the objective of the Frankfurt institution.
OIL
The announcement of new American sanctions against exports of Russian crude boosts oil prices, amid fears of an impact on supply: Brent, which is heading towards its strongest weekly increase since April, takes 4, 35% to 89.74 dollars per barrel. American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) rose 4.47% to $86.62.
TO BE CONTINUED ON MONDAY:
(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse)
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