SMOOTH RECOVERY IN SIGHT FOR EUROPEAN ACTIONS
by Marc Angrand
PARIS (Reuters) – The main stock markets in the euro area are expected without much change on Monday for the first session of 2022 but trading volumes could remain reduced in the absence of some investors due to the extension of the truce celebrations.
Index futures suggest an increase of 0.44% for the CAC 40 in Paris and 0.08% for the Dax in Frankfurt but a symbolic decline of 0.03% for the EuroStoxx 50.
The London market will remain closed for the New Year.
In a context still strongly marked by the health situation, this first session of the year will be animated mainly by the publication of the final results of the IHS Markit surveys among purchasing managers in the manufacturing sector in the euro zone. These PMI indices are expected to confirm the growth in activity despite the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and lingering tensions in supply chains.
Investors are also watching for possible new developments in the case of ailing Chinese real estate developer Evergrande, which announced the suspension of its listing in Hong Kong without specifying the reason.
The New York Stock Exchange ended lower but close to its record on Friday the last session of a year dominated by the continued economic recovery and rebound in corporate profits.
The Dow Jones index lost 0.16%, or 59.78 points, to 36,338.3, the Standard & Poor’s 500 lost 12.55 points (-0.26%) to 4,766.18 and the Nasdaq Composite lost down 96.59 points (-0.61%) to 15,644.97.
All three show positive performances for the month of December and the fourth quarter and the year 2021 ends with an increase of 18.7% for the Dow Jones, of 26.9% for the S & P-500 and of 21.4 % for the Nasdaq, which also recorded their strongest three-year increase since 1999.
Major futures for now suggest an open up 0.3% to 0.4%.
IN ASIA
Japanese and mainland Chinese markets remain closed for the New Year.
In Hong Kong, which recorded the worst performance of the major global stock markets in 2021 with a decline of 14.1%, the Hang Seng index lost 0.7%, once again penalized by concerns related to the health of the sector Chinese real estate: the sector index drops 3.15%.
CHANGES / RATES
In the currency market, the dollar posted a symbolic decline against other major international currencies (-0.10%) but rose against the euro, which came back to $ 1.134 after posting a six-week high at 1 on Friday. , 1386.
As for government bonds, the yield on ten-year US Treasuries edged up to 1.5118%. That of the German Bund of the same maturity is practically unchanged in the first exchanges at -0.173%.
OIL
The oil market started the year in the green after the announcement on Saturday of a decrease in Libyan deliveries of 200,000 barrels per day for a week due to maintenance work on an oil pipeline.
Brent gained 0.78% to 78.39 dollars a barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) took 0.78% to 75.80 dollars.
Investors await Tuesday the meeting of OPEC + countries, which must discuss their production strategy. According to four sources, the Organization of the Exporting Countries and its allies should stick to an increase in their offer of 400,000 bpd for February.
(Edited by Matthieu Protard)