by CORENTIN CHAPRON
PARIS (Reuters) – Wall Street is expected to fall at the opening on Monday, while European stock markets are mixed at mid-session, tensions in the Middle East adding to a general context of caution.
Futures on New York indices suggest Wall Street opening in the red, with the Dow Jones losing 0.17%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 loses 0.28% and the Nasdaq 0.37%.
In Paris, the CAC 40 fell 0.19% to 7,331.94 points around 11:45 GMT, compared to 0.33% for the FTSE in London. The Dax in Frankfurt conversely advances by 0.12%.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index and the Stoxx 600 did not show any marked direction, while the EuroStoxx 50 lost 0.11%.
US commercial and military ships in the Red Sea were targeted by attacks over the weekend, reigniting fears that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could spread to the rest of the region.
These concerns contribute to stimulating the markets, in a context that is poor in the publication of data. Monetary policy makers in the United States no longer have the right to speak before the next meeting of the Federal Reserve, on December 13.
In the euro zone, the President of the ECB, Christine Lagarde, will speak at 2:00 p.m. GMT, while activity indicators in services are expected on Tuesday in the euro zone and the United States, while the sector has been the one of the main factors in the resistance of the labor market and the persistence of inflation on both sides of the Atlantic.
The main publication of this week is nevertheless expected on Friday: the monthly employment report from the American Labor Office will make it possible to gauge the weakening of activity in the United States.
“In recent months, job creation has surprised on the increase mainly due to positive dynamics in education, health, leisure and the public sector, but this is not expected to last,” estimates Christopher Dembik, investment strategy advisor at Pictet AM.
“Job creation should gradually return to the level of 100,000 per month in 2024, a level consistent with the scenario of a soft landing for the American economy.”
CHANGES
The dollar is standing still against a basket of reference currencies, the euro loses 0.07% to 1.0873 dollars, and the pound sterling loses 0.13% to 1.2683 dollars.
On the other hand, exchanges are more lively on cryptocurrencies as bitcoin exceeded $40,000 for the first time since May 2022, supported by expectations of a drop in interest rates in the United States and the hope that a first ETF (exchange traded fund) exposed to bitcoin is authorized by American regulators.
METALS
Gold hit an all-time high during the session at $2,135.40, supported by geopolitical concerns and expectations of a rate cut from the Fed.
It has since given up part of its gains to be stable, at $2,070.28.
VALUES TO FOLLOW IN WALL STREET
Alaska Airlines announced that it would acquire Hawaiian Holdings for $1.9 billion, sparking a reaction among airline sector stocks, including Spirit Airlines and Jetblue Airways.
Uber Technologies, Jabil and Builders Firstsource will join the S&P 500 index starting December 18.
VALUES TO FOLLOW IN EUROPE
Valneva advances 1.81% after reporting positive data on its chikungunya vaccine on Monday.
Roche advances by 2.36% after announcing on Monday that it had reached a definitive agreement to acquire the American group Carmot Therapeutics for 2.7 billion dollars (2.49 billion euros), in order to gain exposure to the market in full swing. boom in obesity treatment.
Nokia fell 4.6% amid rumors of a loss of contract with the American telecoms operator AT&T, which plans to remove the Finnish group from its list of suppliers.
Rolls Royce jumped 3.72% and touched a four-year high during the session after Goldman Sachs resumed its coverage of the stock with a “buy” recommendation. JPMorgan also raised its recommendation from “neutral” to “overweight”.
RATE
Yields are up slightly in a wait-and-see environment.
The yield on the ten-year Treasury rose 1.9 bp to 4.2433%, while the two-year rose 3.3 bp to 4.6%.
The German ten-year yield is stable at 2.361%, that of the two-year rate rises 2.3 bp to 2.686%.
OIL
Crude is falling despite tensions in the Middle East, the latest OPEC+ decision and concerns about global demand adding to uncertainty.
Brent eroded by 0.96% to $78.12 per barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) fell by 1% to $73.33.
(Written by Corentin Chappron, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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