The Paris Stock Exchange erased part of its gains the day before, the hope of a de-escalation in the war in Ukraine having fizzled. In addition, the further acceleration of inflation in Germany is fueling fears of a slowdown in Europe’s leading economy, with consumer prices jumping 7.6% across the Rhine over one year in March, unheard of since reunification. country in the early 1990s. In Spain, inflation reached 9.8%, still over one year, a peak of 37 years, on the eve of the publication of French figures. The eurozone economy faces slowing growth and accelerating inflation as the impact of war in Ukraine weighs on confidence and drives higher energy prices, said Christine Lagarde this morning during a conference organized by the Cypriot central bank.
The contracts future on natural gas are up nearly 9% to 118 euros per megawatt hour in Amsterdam after Germany announced the first phase of an emergency plan providing for rationing in view of a possible stoppage of Russian deliveries. Vladimir Putin insists that payments be made in rubles. A requirement considered by several European countries as a violation of signed contracts that provide for payments in euros or dollars.
Around 4 p.m., the Bedroom 40 lost 0.96% to 6,726.80 points in a business volume of 1.85 billion euros. Elsewhere in Europe, the Dax of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange fell by 1.51%. In New York, the Dow Jones is stable and the Nasdaq Composite yields 0.39%.
The inversion of the yield curve under watch
The brief inversion of the yield curve in the United States on Tuesday raises the specter of recession, but the relevance of this signal is questioned by some observers as the major central banks have flooded the markets with liquidity by the through ultra-accommodating policies. The yield on the 10-year US bond tightened by 1 basis point to 2.4020%, while that of the 2-year is trading at 2.3505%, against 2.453% at its highest on Tuesday. Still, the market is nervous about the Federal Reserve’s decision to step up the pace of its rate hikes at a time when global growth is showing signs of slowing.
However, macroeconomic indicators remain solid across the Atlantic. The private sector created 455,000 jobs in March, according to the survey published by ADP, against 450,000 anticipated and 486,000 in February. GDP growth was revised to 6.9% annualized in the fourth quarter, not far from the previous estimate of 7%.
Talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul yesterday did not lead to any major breakthrough and much remains to be done before reaching an agreement, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who nevertheless welcomes the first concrete proposals made by Ukraine. Russia’s pledge to scale back operations around Kyiv and Chernihiv has observers skeptical, especially as Ukrainian officials reported shelling near those two cities on Wednesday as the siege of Mariupol continues.
The Pentagon spokesman stressed yesterday that Russia was proceeding with troop movements, not their withdrawal, which corresponds to the redeployment of military operations announced by Moscow towards eastern Ukraine. In the recent past, Russia has repeatedly announced a reduction in its operations in other parts of Ukraine while continuing its attacks.
Banks and the automobile again in the red
In the spotlight yesterday, banks and auto stocks are under selloffs. BNP Paribas, Agricultural credit and Societe Generale yield between 2% and 2.7%. Exposed to Russia, Renault plaice of 3.8%. The diamond brand plans to transfer ownership of its majority stake in AvtoVaz to a Russian investor in order to leave the country, Bloomberg reports, citing a source familiar with the matter.
Conversely, crossroads earns almost 1%. The retail group has announced its intention to install more than 700 charging stations for electric vehicles and 5,000 charging points in its Carrefour Market hypermarkets and supermarkets in France by 2025.
TotalEnergies recovers 2.6%. The barrel of Brent from the North Sea is up almost 3% to 114.22 dollars in the face of questions about the chances of an appeasement in the conflict in Ukraine, especially as weekly stocks of oil fell more than expected last week in the United States, according to data from the American Petroleum Institute (API). OPEC + must decide tomorrow on the evolution of its production for the month of May, but some producing countries have already indicated that it would be difficult to remedy the shortfall in Russia.