by Augustin Turpin
(Reuters) – European stock markets ended higher on Wednesday, while Wall Street hesitated at mid-session, the good financial results of companies having supported shares in the absence of a catalyst.
In Paris, the CAC 40 ended up 0.69% at 8,131.41 points. The British Footsie gained 0.49% and the German Dax 0.31%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index gained 0.46%, the FTSEurofirst 300 0.36% and the Stoxx 600 0.33%.
European markets are regaining momentum after the loss of momentum observed in April, the period of publication of financial results having shown the robustness of European companies, while the ECB seems optimistic about the possibility of a first reduction in its key rate in June.
“The ECB is best placed among major central banks to start cutting rates,” said Daniela Hathorn, an analyst at Capital.com.
However, ECB officials have expressed uncertainty about easing monetary policy beyond June, while across the Atlantic, doubts about the Federal Reserve’s rate cuts are growing. more and more pressing.
“A rate cut will not solve all the problems, but it gives investors the feeling that the ECB is in tune with what is happening in the economy,” added Daniela Hathorn.
VALUES
Alstom takes around 9% after detailing its plan to reduce debt and reform its finances.
Siemens Energy soars nearly 13% after announcing the replacement of the boss of its struggling wind division, while raising its outlook for 2024.
BMW drops around 3% after saying it expects a slight drop in pre-tax profit this year, due to higher costs for research and development, production and personnel, as well as lower prices used cars.
Anheuser-Busch Inbev gains almost 4% after beating expectations for its first quarter profits and confirming its outlook for 2024, dragging the food and beverage segment of the Stoxx behind it, up 1.6%.
A WALL STREET
At closing time in Europe, the Dow Jones rose 0.21%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 lost 0.08% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.67%.
Uber was down 9% after announcing lower-than-expected gross bookings for the second quarter.
Tesla, Amazon and Alphabet fell by 1.5%, 0.6% and 1.06% respectively, against a backdrop of rising US bond yields.
TODAY’S INDICATORS
German industrial production fell 0.4% in March month-on-month, less than expected, according to data published Wednesday by the Federal Statistics Office.
CHANGES
The dollar rose 0.06% against a basket of reference currencies, while the euro gained 0.02% to 1.0754 dollars.
RATE
Bond yields in the euro zone are rising, recovering from their declines at the start of the week, in a context of renewed bets on the Fed’s next rate cuts.
The yield on the German ten-year rose 4.3 basis points (bp) to 2.464%, its American equivalent increasing 2.1 bp to 4.8282%.
OIL
Oil prices started to rise again and rose 0.72% to $83.76 per barrel, with light American crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) increasing by 0.8994% to $79.08.
(Written by Augustin Turpin)
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