by Claude Chendjou
PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets ended slightly higher on Tuesday for the last session of a difficult month for the markets, while Wall Street was cautiously moving in the green at mid-session while the American Federal Reserve (Fed) meets for two days of monetary policy debate, the outcome of which could result in a new status quo on its interest rates.
In Paris, the CAC 40 ended with a gain of 0.89% to 6,885.65 points. The British Footsie finished practically stable (-0.08%), its upside potential having been limited by energy values. The German Dax gained 0.64%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index gained 0.81%, the FTSEurofirst 300 0.49% and the Stoxx 600 0.59%.
Over the month as a whole, the CAC 40 nevertheless lost 3.49% and the Stoxx 600 3.68%, its biggest monthly drop since September 2022.
At the close in Europe, the Dow Jones gained 0.08%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 0.23% and the Nasdaq gained 0.03%. Investors are digesting a shower of mixed results from large companies like Caterpillar (-6.10%) and Pfizer Pfizer (-0.91%), as well as macroeconomic data in the United States such as consumer confidence, which deteriorated in October, and labor costs came out above expectations in the third quarter.
On the monetary front, if there is practically no doubt that federal funds rates in the United States will be maintained again on Wednesday in a range of 5.25%-5.50%, investors will be watching the influx of indices allowing them to anticipate the timing of a possible easing of Fed policy.
In the euro zone, where the European Central Bank (ECB) decided last week to observe a first pause in the rise in its rates, the Frankfurt institution should welcome the latest data on inflation in the bloc which shows a slowdown in October to 2.9% year-on-year and an unexpected contraction in the bloc’s GDP of 0.1% in the third quarter, signs of the impact of its monetary tightening.
VALUES IN EUROPE
Quarterly publications also animated discussions in Europe, notably with Thales which lost 1.38% after order intake considered disappointing in the third quarter. Bouygues, conversely, gained 4.43%, thanks to a current operating profit that was more solid than expected over nine months.
The results of BASF (+4.45%) and Uniper (+9.54%) were welcomed, while those of BP (-4.57%) disappointed.
EXCHANGES The Japanese currency dropped 1.47% to 151.29 yen per dollar after the decision of the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to maintain an ultra-accommodating policy.
The dollar increased by 0.58% against a basket of reference currencies while several indicators of the day demonstrate the resistance of the American economy.
The euro stands at 1.0575 dollars (-0.36%) and the pound sterling at 1.2142 dollars (-0.21%), two days before the Bank of England’s monetary policy decision (BoE).
RATE
The easing continues in the bond compartment, with the yield on the ten-year German Bund having ended down around two basis points, at 2.805%.
In the United States, that of ten-year Treasuries fell during the session to 4.803% compared to more than 5% at the start of the month.
OIL
Oil prices are irregular, the weakness of economic indicators from China limiting their potential gain: the barrel of Brent gains 0.15% to 87.58 dollars, while that of American light crude (WTI) loses 0. 7% to $81.73.
(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Zhifan Liu)
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