A chart of the DAX index at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
PARIS (Reuters) – European stock markets ended on a hesitant note on Thursday after a US employment report showing the resilience of the labor market across the Atlantic, and ahead of the Jackson Hole symposium where the trajectories of European economies will be specified. and Americans.
In Paris, the CAC 40 lost 0.44% to 7,214.46 points, while the German Dax fell by 0.68% against an increase of 0.18% for the British Footsie.
The EuroStoxx 50 index ended the session down 0.81%, with the FTSEurofirst 300 tumbling 0.4% and the Stoxx 600 0.41%.
Labor Department data released Thursday showed jobless claims were down week-over-week to 230,000 claims, versus 240,000 expected.
The labor market’s resistance to rate hikes is reigniting fears that the Federal Reserve will need to tighten monetary policy even further to bring inflation under control.
The Jackson Hole symposium, which brings together the world’s major financiers, will be closely followed by the markets, which will seek indications on the trajectory of the monetary policies of the rich countries.
On Friday, Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Fed, and Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, will speak on the state of their respective economies.
“The uncertainty of the new economic reality has created choppy conditions for equities (this summer), as markets search for the path of least resistance,” said Jeffrey O’Connor, head of US markets at Liquidnet.
“Jackson Hole will set the tone for the rest of the year: whatever signals Powell gives will serve as a starting point for traders to set their key rate expectations and will likely usher in a buoyant period in the markets throughout. of the month of September.”
VALUES
The technology sector fell by 2.4%, at the bottom of the Stoxx 600 indices, despite the good results of Nvidia. A note from JPMorgan published Thursday reminds that it is “too early to be positioned higher” on securities linked to European semiconductors, which still face an overstocking problem. ASM International, BE Semiconductor, ASML and Aixtron fell between 3.4% and 6.0%. In France, Soitec and STMicroelectronics ended down 4.71% and 2.48%.
Alk-Abello rose 6.97% at the top of the Stoxx 600, after the Danish supplier of allergy treatment products posted second-quarter operating profit almost twice as high as a year earlier, thanks to strong sales in Japan.
AT WALL STREET
Caution is spreading on Wall Street ahead of the Jackson Hole meeting, despite Nvidia’s much better-than-expected results.
At the time of closing in Europe, trading on the New York Stock Exchange indicated a decline of 0.54% for the Dow Jones, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 yielded 0.79% and the Nasdaq Composite 1.24 %.
RATE
US yields rise after jobs data as markets fear tight labor markets will support inflation.
The ten-year Treasury yield rose 2.1bp to 4.2194%, while the two-year rate rose 5.1bp to 5.0035%.
The German ten-year yield is stable at 2.525%, while that of the two-year rate is flat at 2.973%.
CHANGES
The dollar strengthens after the jobs data and ahead of the Jackson Hole symposium.
The dollar gained 0.41% against a basket of benchmark currencies, and the euro fell 0.3% to 1.0826 dollars. The pound fell 0.73% to $1.2633.
OIL
Crude hesitated during a mixed session, with markets positioning themselves ahead of statements from central bankers on Friday, which will discuss the state of developed economies.
Brent fell 0.12% to $83.11 a barrel, with US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) flat at $78.83.
(Written by Corentin Chapron, edited by Camille Raynaud)