PARIS (Reuters) – Wall Street is expected to rise on Friday, while the European stock markets advance at mid-session, supported by the good results of very large American capitalizations, but the publication of PCE inflation in the United States could weigh on the feeling.
Futures on New York indices suggest Wall Street opening in the green, with the Dow Jones rising 0.1%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 takes 0.69% and the Nasdaq 0.99%.
In Paris, the CAC 40 advanced 0.29% to 8,039.72 points around 11:55 GMT. The Dax in Frankfurt gained 0.75%, compared to 0.4% for the FTSE in London.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose by 0.59%, compared to 0.73% for the EuroStoxx 50 and 0.65% for the Stoxx 600.
Alphabet and Microsoft published better-than-expected results on Thursday, reassuring investors after disappointing figures from Meta Platforms on Wednesday, which supports technology stocks and risk appetite.
The PCE inflation indicator for March, used by the Federal Reserve to gauge price stability, will nevertheless be released at 12:30 GMT. The data could surprise on the upside, especially since PCE inflation in the first quarter was higher than expected, according to GDP figures published on Thursday.
A new surprise could temper market optimism.
“It seems to me, in the short term, that the question of persistent inflation is more important in the eyes of the stock markets than the question of company results,” writes Alexandre Baradez, head of market analysis at IG France.
“Even if the results of the tech giants this week have moved the indices, the feeling is that more favorable inflation figures will also be necessary for the historic highs to be revised on the SP500, the Dow Jones or even the Nasdaq100 after recent correction.”
VALUES TO FOLLOW IN WALL STREET
Alphabet and Microsoft are expected to rise sharply at the opening, and could lead in their wake the five other very large capitalizations, Tesla, Nvidia, Meta Platforms, Amazon.COM and Apple.
Intel said Thursday it expects revenue and profit below expectations in the second quarter and is seen sharply down at the opening.
VALUES TO FOLLOW IN EUROPE
The Stoxx index of the “tech” compartment rose 1.61%, the largest sectoral increase in Europe in the wake of American values.
Airbus fell 2.16%, one of the worst performances in the CAC 40, after the aircraft manufacturer reported first-quarter operating profit below expectations.
Amundi reported on Friday a higher than expected quarterly inflow and jumped 5.89%, the dynamism of its activities in Asia and the appetite of investors for risk-resistant assets having supported the growth of outstandings.
Saint-Gobain climbs 6.88%, at the top of the CAC 40, after the publication on Thursday of quarterly turnover above expectations.
Alten fell 8.46% after announcing a slowdown in its activity in the first quarter.
Valeo reported on Thursday a turnover of 5.43 billion euros in the first quarter, down 1% compared to the same period in 2023, and dropped 2.69%.
Thyssenkrupp announced on Friday the sale of 20% of its steelmaking activities to EP Corporate Group (EPCG), the investment vehicle of Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky, which pushes the price up 9.24% .
Signify, lighting manufacturer, lost 7.31% after reporting on Friday an Ebita down 18% to 122 million euros, below market expectations.
RATE
Yields vary little on both sides of the Atlantic, with investors positioning themselves for the publication of PCE inflation.
The yield on the German ten-year rate weakened by 2.1 bp to 2.602%, that of the two-year rate was stable at 3.005%.
The yield on the ten-year Treasury lost 1.8 bps to 4.6878%, while the two-year remained unchanged at 4.9996%.
CHANGES
The yen tumbles against the dollar and hits a 34-year low during the session after the last Japanese monetary policy meeting.
The yen fell 0.71% to $156.76. The dollar advances 0.1% against a basket of reference currencies, the euro remains at 1.0731 dollars and the pound sterling at 1.251 dollars.
OIL
Crude is advancing cautiously, supported by concerns about the situation in the Middle East and by optimistic comments from US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who believes that US GDP figures for the first quarter will be revised upwards.
Brent nibbles 0.6% to 89.54 dollars per barrel, American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) advances 0.61% to 84.08 dollars.
(Written by Corentin Chappron, edited by)
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