by Claude Chendjou
PARIS (Reuters) – European stock markets ended higher on Thursday, while Wall Street was also moving in the green at mid-session, supported by economic indicators broadly in line with expectations which trump fears related to the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
In Paris, the CAC 40 ended with a gain of 0.77% to 7,106.15 points. The British Footsie advanced 0.55% and the German Dax by 1.04%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index gained 1.17%, the FTSEurofirst 300 0.99% and the Stoxx 600 1%.
In Europe, the positive trend was mainly fueled by transport and leisure stocks, for which the sector index gained 1.72%.
Risk appetite in equity markets is linked to new data from South Africa which suggests the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is 70% to 80% less dangerous than the Delta.
The various laboratories marketing vaccines against COVID-19 have also released preliminary data on their products which suggests that the three-injection vaccine schedule would significantly increase the immune response to Omicron.
“The Omicron wave will not derail the economic recovery which is well underway, it could delay it, but 2022 will benefit from an attractive and healthy economic environment,” predicts Philip Petursson, investment strategist at IG Wealth Management.
Regarding economic indicators, in the United States, the Commerce Department announced that household consumption expenditure had grown at a pace in line with expectations in November after a jump in October. They came out up 0.6% after growth of 1.4%.
The “core PCE” price index, a measure of inflation favored by the US Federal Reserve, for its part, increased by 4.7% against a consensus of 4.5%.
Unemployment claims in the United States remained stable last week at 205,000, a figure lower than the level before the pandemic, announced the Department of Labor.
The morale of American households has also improved markedly since the beginning of December compared to the previous month with an index at 70.6 after 67.4, show Thursday the final results of the monthly survey of the University. from Michigan.
VALUES IN EUROPE
At values in Paris, Carmat gained 0.45%, the company having announced that it had completed its investigation into the quality problems identified on some of its artificial heart prostheses.
In Frankfurt, Continental took 2.47%, the chairman of the group’s executive board, Nikolai Setzer, having indicated that the automotive supplier could reach the top of the range of its annual margin forecasts.
Lufthansa (+ 0.98%) for its part erased part of its initial gains of the morning after press information according to which the airline could cancel 33,000 flights this winter because of Omicron.
In Amsterdam, Philips won 2.42% after announcing the first positive results on a large part of the fans recalled this year for a risk of degradation and toxicity of a foam component.
In mergers and acquisitions, the British betting specialist Flutter, owner of Betfair and Poker Stars, rose 2.07% on the announcement of the takeover of the Italian gaming operator Sisal for 1.62 billion pounds (1.9 billion euros), while the Swiss Holcim took 2.1% after the announcement of the acquisition of Malarkey Roofing Products for 1.35 billion dollars (1.2 billion euros) .
A WALL STREET
At close in Europe, the Dow Jones is up 0.57%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 0.71% and the Nasdaq 0.81%.
Ten of the eleven sectors of the S & P-500 are moving in the green, the positive trend being mainly supported by industry (1.24%), energy (+ 0.63%) and finance (+ 0.74%) thanks to economic indicators that are boosting investor morale before Christmas and on the dawn of a new year.
“2022 will actually be a better year than people are currently predicting,” predicts Sam Stovall, investment strategist at CFRA Research.
“We have a reopening of the economy, less disruption in supply chains and we are just learning to live with the new variants of COVID,” he adds.
In the equity markets, tourism values are sought after: casino operators Melco Resorts & Entertainment, Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts advance 1% to 7.6%, while airlines Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines take 1.2% and 0.6% respectively.
On the downside, the Chinese e-commerce specialist JD.COM fell 6.8% after Tencent’s announcement to significantly reduce its stake in its capital, making Walmart (-0.5%) now the main shareholder of the Chinese group .
CHANGES
At foreign exchange rates, the dollar index, which measures the variations of the greenback against other benchmark currencies, is almost stable, with risk aversion declining.
The euro remains above $ 1.13 despite a slight decline of 0.10%.
RATE
On the bond market, the yield on ten-year Treasuries is up 3.1 basis points, to 1.4892%, as investors abandon government bonds in favor of equities.
The trend is the same in Europe where the yield of the ten-year German Bund ended up more than four basis points to -0.252%, while its French equivalent of the same maturity gained 4.3 points to 0.1190 %.
OIL
Oil continues to advance, supported by a weaker dollar amid optimism about global economic growth.
A barrel of Brent trades at $ 75.83 (+ 0.70%) and that of US light crude at $ 73.15 (+ 0.55%).
(Report Claude Chendjou, edited by Jean-Michel Bélot)