Market: Little movement in sight for stocks at the open


by Laetitia Volga

PARIS (Reuters) – The main European stock markets are expected to be unchanged at the opening on Thursday as investors are expected to take a break after two sessions of rebound.

Index futures suggest that the Parisian CAC 40 could lose 0.08% at the open, the Dax in Frankfurt would fall by 0.11% and the FTSE in London by 0.13%.

European indices closed higher on Wednesday, buoyed by expectations of further monetary policy easing in China and U.S. inflation data coming in line with expectations amid fears an upside surprise could be expected. reinforces the restrictive bias of the US Federal Reserve (Fed).

However, St. Louis Fed Chairman James Bullard said four interest rate hikes now appear necessary this year to combat high inflation.

His counterpart in Philadelphia, Patrick Harker, indicated for his part that he was in favor of three rate hikes from March and that he was open to other increases if inflation worsened.

Investors will follow at 15:00 GMT the hearing of Lael Brainard by the US Senate Banking Committee in view of her nomination as Fed vice-chairman and, on the indicator side, the figures for producer prices and those of weekly registrations. unemployed in the United States (13:30 GMT).

The start of the corporate earnings season for the last quarter of 2021 is another subject of attention for market operators. American banks Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo will be among the first to publish their accounts on Friday, those of Delta Air Lines are expected on Thursday.

AT WALL STREET

The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Wednesday after inflation data released in line with expectations, despite a multi-decade spike, helping to ease fears that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) is tightening faster than expected. waited for his support measures. [.NFR]

The Dow Jones index gained 0.11% to 36,290.32 points, the S&P-500 gained 0.28% to 4,726.35 points and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.23% to 15,188.39 points.

Official data showed consumer price inflation decelerating month-on-month in December, but hit a year-on-year peak not seen in nearly four decades at 7% – an annual rise in line with economists’ consensus interviewed by Reuters.

Futures are currently pointing to a slightly lower open.

IN ASIA

The Nikkei on the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 0.96% as rising COVID-19 cases dragged down stocks of retail and other service sector players.

Coronavirus infections hit their highest level in four months on Wednesday in the major metropolitan areas of Tokyo and Osaka.

“Investors are starting to think the normalization of the economy will be delayed,” said one market participant.

In China, equity markets also ended lower, led by real estate and consumer stocks, after the announcement of a decrease in new bank loans in December compared to the previous month.

The CSI300 index fell 1.64% and the Shanghai Composite index fell 1.17%.

EXCHANGES/RATES

The dollar climbed 0.08% against a basket of international currencies after falling the previous day to a two-month low after data came in line with US inflation expectations.

“The consumer price report does not put pressure on the Fed to accelerate its thinking on interest rates at this stage,” said Jamie Cox at Harris Financial.

The euro is on its stable side, at 1.1444 dollars

On the bond market, the yield on ten-year Treasury bills gained more than two basis points to 1.75% and its German equivalent fluctuated around -0.047%.

OIL

Oil prices retreat slightly amid near-term demand uncertainty as COVID-19 cases surge around the world.

The barrel of Brent yields 0.44% to 84.3 dollars and American light crude 0.47% to 82.25 dollars.

(edited by Blandine Hénault)

Copyright © 2022 Thomson Reuters



Source link -84