PARIS (Reuters) – European markets ended higher on Friday, reassured about the American outlook after the latest meeting of the Federal Reserve and employment indicators.
In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 0.54% to 7,957.57 points, while the German Dax increased by 0.54% and the British Footsie by 0.51%.
The EuroStoxx 50 index ended the session with an advance of 0.58%, compared to 0.4% for the FTSEurofirst 300 and 0.44% for the Stoxx 600.
Over the week, the CAC 40 lost 1.62% and the Stoxx 600 0.51%.
The Fed kept rates unchanged during its latest monetary policy meeting, but ruled out the risk of another rate hike as inflation proves more persistent than expected.
“The Fed is in no rush to cut rates. At the same time, the bar for another rate hike is high, and as long as the jobs market remains strong, the Fed will continue to focus on inflation “, summarizes Raphael Olszyna-Marzys, economist at J. Safra Sarasin.
However, employment figures published on Friday showed that tensions were beginning to dissipate: wage growth reached 3.9% year-on-year in April, compared to 4.0% in March, while the Fed estimates that ‘Growth of 3.0% to 3.5% is compatible with the inflation target of 2%.
Furthermore, services activity contracted unexpectedly, while the employment sub-indicator confirmed the slowdown in hiring in a sector which has supported price dynamics for several months, according to data published on Friday.
The results also animated the indices during the week: 40% of the companies constituting the S&P 500 index published their quarterly accounts over the last five sessions, confirming that the growth of earnings per share remained robust, despite the impact monetary policies.
A WALL STREET
Wall Street is up sharply, relieved by the latest American indicators.
At closing time in Europe, trading on the New York Stock Exchange indicated an increase of 1.11% for the Dow Jones, compared to 1.1% for the Standard & Poor’s 500, and 1.76% for the Nasdaq Composite.
VALUES
Legrand reported on Friday a 5.6% drop in sales in the first quarter and lost 2.4%.
JCDecaux jumped 9.91% after reporting an 11.1% increase in its turnover in the first quarter.
Societe Generale reported a 21.7% fall in quarterly net profit on Friday, and fell 5.18% during a volatile session.
Ayvens, the car rental subsidiary of Société Générale, reported on Friday a 30.6% increase in margins for rental contracts and services and advanced 7.20%.
Atos rose 7.57% after Les Echos revealed that the American investment fund Bain Capital was “very closely” interested in the group’s assets.
Danske Bank fell 4.61% after Denmark’s largest bank reported lower-than-expected net interest income in the first quarter.
Novo Nordisk fell 2.58% after rival Amgen reported encouraging interim results for its experimental obesity drug.
Spanish beauty group Puig made its stock market debut on Friday, the biggest IPO on Spanish markets in a decade, but the reception was mixed and the group finished flat
RATE
Yields are falling sharply in the eurozone and the United States, as operators reposition themselves for a more accommodating Federal Reserve this year.
At the close of the European interest rate markets, the yield on the ten-year Treasury fell by 5.3 bp to 4.5097%, compared to 6.5 bp for the two-year rate, to 4.8035%.
The yield on the German ten-year fell 4.6 bps to 2.498%, while that of the two-year rate declined by 6.1 bps to 2.927%.
CHANGES
The dollar is falling sharply against the euro, with the latest indicators suggesting that the Fed could ease its monetary policy more strongly than expected in 2024.
The dollar lost 0.33% against a basket of reference currencies, while the euro gained 0.43% to 1.0771 dollars. The pound sterling strengthened by 0.18% to 1.2554 dollars.
OIL
Crude is falling as markets digest the latest US indicators which could suggest a weakening of demand this year.
Brent fell by 0.31% to $83.41 per barrel, American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) decreased by 0.42% to $78.62.
TO BE CONTINUED ON MONDAY:
(Written by Corentin Chappron, edited by Kate Entringer)
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