(Reuters) – European stock markets ended higher on Monday and Wall Street was trading in the green at mid-session, extending last week’s gains, awaiting the next decision from the European Central Bank (ECB) and the publication of key indicators at the end of the week.
In Paris, the CAC 40 ended up 0.59% at 7,415.29 points. The British Footsie rose by 0.39% and the German Dax by 0.74%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index gained 0.72%, the FTSEurofirst 300 0.76% and the Stoxx 600 0.78%.
At closing time in Europe, Wall Street showed an increase of 0.4% for the Dow Jones, 0.33% for the Standard & Poor’s-500 and 0.33% for the Nasdaq.
In the absence of indicators on Monday, European stocks continued to rise, benefiting from the American dynamic which brought the S&P 500 to a historic record closing on Friday, thanks to the progression of tech stocks.
Markets are positioning themselves ahead of many expected events this week, including the Bank of Japan’s next monetary policy decision on Tuesday, Eurozone PMI indicators on Wednesday, the ECB’s rate decision on Thursday and, finally, the PCE inflation in the United States for December on Friday.
This data should give new indications on the trajectory of rates at the start of 2024, the optimistic scenario of a first cut in the spring having animated the markets at the end of last year.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 reached a new record, surpassing the 4,842.07 points recorded on Friday and extending the upward trend of the market, driven by increases in large capitalizations, Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Apple each contributing 1% .
In terms of values, the FDJ closed up 6.2%, among the best performances of the SBF 120, after launching on Monday a takeover bid for the online gaming group Kindred Group, whose stock soared by 16%.
CHANGES
The dollar is stable (-0.03%) against a basket of reference currencies, while the euro loses -0.08% to 1.0888 dollars.
“The dollar is a little bit on hold until the central banks start tomorrow,” said Helen Given, a foreign exchange trader at Monex USA, adding that “the dollar/yen is down slightly due to the positioning of the BOJ (Bank of Japan) and a slight attraction to safe haven values.
RATE
Eurozone bond yields fell on Monday as the gap between Italy and Germany’s 10-year borrowing costs hit its lowest level in seven months.
The ten-year German Bund lost 4.9 basis points (bps) to 2.256%, while the two-year lost 3.9 bps to 2.69%.
The US bond markets are also falling, with the ten-year Treasury losing 5.4 bps to 4.0918%, and the two-year Treasury losing 3.4 bps to 4.374%.
OIL
Oil prices are rising as investors weigh the supply impact of conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine against a slowdown in global oil demand.
Brent rose 1.73% to $79.92 per barrel, with American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) increasing 2.33% to $75.12.
(Written by Augustin Turpin, edited by Sophie Louet)
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