by Augustin Turpin
(Reuters) – European stock markets ended higher on Thursday, while Wall Street looked for direction at mid-session, the last session of the quarter being marked by a consolidation of the indices following the gains at the start of the year.
The markets were also awaiting the publication of US inflation figures expected during the Easter weekend.
In Paris, the CAC 40 ended up 0.01% at 8,205.81 points. The British Footsie takes 0.26% and the German Dax 0.15%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index increased by 0.07%, the FTSEurofirst 300 by 0.24% and the Stoxx 600 by 0.23%.
The stock markets have been hitting records after records for several weeks thanks to a reinforced conviction of a reduction in the key rates of the major central banks in the coming months, to the point that the latest mixed macroeconomic indicators have no influence on investor morale.
The decline in the British economy, retail sales in Germany and the stagnation of bank loans in the euro zone did not lead to a reaction in the indices during the last day of trading before the Easter long weekend.
Investors will therefore have four days to digest the figures for American PCE inflation and, in Europe, preliminary French HICP inflation, which are expected on Friday.
At the same time, bond yields are rising again after comments from the governor of the American Federal Reserve (Fed) Christopher Waller, who on Wednesday recommended an extension of the strategy of higher short-term rates.
Comments which found an echo on Thursday from Jonathan Haskel, member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England (BoE), who indicated that a reduction in key rates should be a still distant objective.
According to the CME’s FedWatch tool, markets are now 64% expecting a first rate cut in June.
VALUES
On the Paris Stock Exchange, Soitec closed with a drop of 20% after announcing on Wednesday that it anticipated a drop in its turnover in the first half of 2024-2025, while reporting high stocks for its RF-SOI technology.
Casino plunged 63% after declaring in a press release on Wednesday that it had successfully implemented its financial restructuring and unveiled a new management team around Czech businessman Daniel Kretinksy.
Elsewhere in Europe, JD Sports soars 15%, leading the Stoxx 600, as the sportswear retailer reported pre-tax profit in line with its forecasts, while Swedish telecommunications group Millicom takes 3, 5% after an increase in recommendation by JP Morgan.
A WALL STREET
At closing time in Europe, the Dow Jones gained 0.01%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 0.05% and the Nasdaq Composite 0.1%, the indices being on the verge of achieving new records, with the Dow Jones at 1% of the historic mark of 40,000 points.
Data on jobless claims revealed an unexpected drop in the week to March 23, to 210,000, while data from the Commerce Department showed a surprise increase in the economy in the fourth quarter. Furthermore, the monthly survey from the University of Michigan showed that American household morale remained relatively stable in March.
RATE
Euro zone bond yields are rising with comments Wednesday from Fed Governor Christopher Waller, who called for an extension of the strategy of higher rates in the short term.
The yield on the German ten-year gained 0.3 basis points (bp) to 2.292%, that of the American Treasury with the same maturity lost 0.6 to 4.1905%.
CHANGES
The dollar advances (0.12%) against a basket of reference currencies, while the euro loses 0.27% to 1.0797 dollars.
OIL
Oil prices are rising again after two consecutive sessions of decline, with investors anticipating a tightening of supply as OPEC+ is expected to maintain the course on its current production cuts.
Brent rose 1.52% to 87.4 dollars per barrel, American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) gaining/losing 1.86% to 82.86 dollars.
TO BE CONTINUED FRIDAY:
THE SITUATION ON THE MARKETS
(Some data may have a slight lag)
(Written by Augustin Turpin, edited by XXX)
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