PARIS (Reuters) – European markets ended lower on Tuesday, with investors positioning themselves cautiously before the publication on Wednesday of Nvidia figures and the minutes of the latest meeting of the Federal Reserve (Fed).
In Paris, the CAC 40 lost 0.67% to 8,141.46 points, while the German Dax fell by 0.23% and the British Footsie by 0.09%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index ended the session down 0.56%, compared to 0.18% for the FTSEurofirst 300 and 0.21% for the Stoxx 600.
Nvidia’s figures will be scrutinized by investors, while artificial intelligence (AI) was one of the main themes around which the rebound in stocks was built at the end of 2023 and in 2024.
The group in fact produces the semiconductors essential to the operation of the technology, and figures which would surprise on the rise or fall will make it possible to judge whether or not the craze for AI will continue.
The group is also the third largest in terms of capitalization on the American stock markets, and any surprise on its results would therefore have much greater impacts than on the technology segment alone.
On the monetary policy side, the report from the last Fed meeting will shed light on the debates driving the central bank.
In fact, investors are hesitating between falling inflation figures and remarks from the president of the institution, Jerome Powell, considered accommodating, and restrictive comments made in recent days by other monetary policy makers, which move away from rate cuts.
Wednesday will also release inflation in Britain for April, the Bank of England having warned during its last meeting that rates could fall more than the markets expect.
A WALL STREET
Wall Street hesitates mid-session, with Wednesday’s meetings calling for caution during an otherwise calm session.
At closing time in Europe, trading on the New York Stock Exchange indicated an increase of 0.1% for the Dow Jones, against a stable Standard & Poor’s 500 and a Nasdaq Composite.
VALUES
Sanofi, which presented positive results on Duxipent in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as well as a partnership with OpenAi in artificial intelligence, advanced 0.94%, one of the best performances in the CAC 40. The European health sector grew by 0.65% in the wake of the French group, one of the rare positive performances among the Stoxx sectors.
AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it was targeting an increase of around 75% in its turnover to reach 80 billion dollars (73.65 billion euros) by 2030, and rose by 2.22%.
Carmila rose 3.45% after Citigroup raised its recommendation to “buy” from “sell”.
Generali fell 1.55%, the weakness of the property and casualty business of the Italian insurer taking precedence over better than expected net profit in the first quarter.
Saipem gained 3.99% after landing new contracts worth $3.7 billion.
SFS Group, manufacturer of fastening systems, gained 7.91% after UBS raised its recommendation from “neutral” to “buy”.
RATE
Yields are falling amid caution.
At the close of the European interest rate markets, the ten-year Treasury yield lost 2.3 bp to 4.4139%.
The German ten-year yield fell 2.4 bps to 2.508%, while the two-year yield fell 1.8 bps to 2.977%.
CHANGES
The pound hesitates before the publication on Wednesday of a burst of data in Great Britain, including inflation figures for April.
The dollar gained 0.07% against a basket of reference currencies, while the euro was stable at 1.0854 dollars. The pound sterling remains at $1.2707.
OIL
Crude is declining as markets worry about the outlook for monetary policy in the United States, where the Fed could keep rates at a restrictive level for longer than expected.
Brent fell by 1.35% to $82.58 per barrel, American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) decreased by 1.2% to $78.84.
TO BE CONTINUED ON WEDNESDAY:
(Written by Corentin Chappron, edited by Kate Entringer)
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