EUROPEAN STOCK EXCHANGES END IN DISPERSED ORDER
by Claude Chendjou
PARIS (Reuters) – European stock markets ended in mixed order on Thursday after two consecutive sessions in the green, while on Wall Street the indices also moved in disorder after the publication of producer price figures in December in the United States. States suggesting a slowdown in US inflation.
In Paris, the CAC 40 ended down 0.5% at 7,201.14 points. The British Footsie, on the other hand, gained 0.16% and the German Dax 0.13%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index fell by 0.01%, the FTSEurofirst 300 by 0.03% and the Stoxx 600 by 0.03%.
In the United States, the US Department of Labor reported a surprise increase in jobless claims last week to 230,000, although overall the labor market remains under pressure with a rate of 3.9%.
On the inflation side, the rise in producer prices in the United States decelerated much more than expected in December compared to November to settle at 0.2% and 9.7% over one year while economists forecast 0.4% and 9.8% respectively.
“These numbers are high and are definitely not good, but they were expected,” comments Joe Saluzzi, Co-Director of Trading at Themis Trading. “So the market is not really worried and it is not selling on it,” he added.
For investors, these new data, added to the consumer price figures published on Wednesday, ease the pressure in favor of a rapid rise in interest rates in the United States while the markets feared a few days ago until to four increases in the cost of credit this year.
Heard by the Senate on Tuesday with a view to his reappointment as head of the American Federal Reserve (Fed), Jerome Powell gave no indication in this direction.
On Thursday, Governor Lael Brainard, who is aiming for the Fed’s second job, expressed confidence in the ability of the US central bank to curb rising inflation.
In Europe, in the absence of economic indicators, corporate results and fears related to the COVID-19 pandemic dictated the trend. The health compartment on the Stoxx 600 fell 0.92%.
In Germany, where a record number of new coronavirus contaminations have been recorded in the last 24 hours, laboratories have said they fear they will no longer be able to carry out screening tests for COVID-19.
VALUES IN EUROPE
In Europe, at the sector level, the technology compartment (+0.7%) posted one of the strongest increases in the Stoxx 600, supported by the record quarterly profit generated by the Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC.
Infineon, STMicroelectronics, ASML and Soitec gained 2.2%, 3.08%, 2.5% and 3.07% respectively.
In the automobile sector, Renault, which will publish its results on February 18, declared itself confident on Thursday for 2022 thanks to the effects of its restructuring and the renewal of its range. The diamond group took the lead in the CAC 40 with a gain of 4.5%.
Sopra Steria climbed 5.6% thanks to an increase in its forecasts for 2021 and the appointment of a new general manager.
On the downside, the luxury groups Kering (-3.6%), LVMH (-2.6%) and Hermès (-3.1%) recorded the largest declines in the Parisian index, penalized by a new increase bond yields, generally unfavorable to growth stocks.
In London, British retailers Tesco and Marks & Spencer lost 0.8% and 7.9% respectively despite the upward revision of their annual forecasts, analysts citing the already high level of their share price to explain the decline. no positive reaction.
In Amsterdam, Just Eat Takeaway jumped 8.5%, the Bloomberg agency citing a possible sale of its American subsidiary Grubhub.
AT WALL STREET
At the time of the close in Europe, the Dow Jones gained 0.59%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 was stable % and the Nasdaq 0.51%
The Dow Jones is supported by the slowdown in producer prices which could reflect an improvement in the bottlenecks of the supply chains, while the decline in the stocks of health care (-0.76%) and giants technology (-0.49%) weighs on the S&P-500 and the Nasdaq. The financial (+0.55%), industrial (+1.01%) and energy (+0.71%) compartments posted the most significant increases.
On the value side, among the first big results for companies, Delta Air lines gained 3.71% after the publication of earnings above expectations for the fourth quarter. American Airlines and United Airlines advance respectively by 6.10% and 5.04%. The air transport index takes 3.87%.
CHANGES
In the foreign exchange market, the dollar fell 0.19%, to a two-month low, against a basket of international currencies, after the data in line with expectations for US inflation and the slowdown in producer prices .
The euro, up 0.23%, is trading at 1.1468 dollars
RATE
The yield on ten-year US Treasuries was virtually flat at 1.728% after the release of producer prices.
That of the ten-year German Bund ended down 3.3 basis points to -0.087%, while its French equivalent contracted 2.7 points to 0.242%.
OIL
Oil prices, which hit a two-month high on expectations of a sustained rise in global demand for crude, are catching their breath.
The barrel of Brent lost 0.43% to 84.32 dollars and American light crude 0.62% to 82.11 dollars.
TO BE FOLLOWED ON FRIDAY:
(Some data may show a slight shift)
(Report Claude Chendjou, edited by Sophie Louet)