EUROPEAN STOCK EXCHANGES END IN THE RED
by Juliette Portala
(Archyde.com) – European stocks closed in the red on Wednesday on concerns over Russian gas supplies to the Old Continent, developments in the war in Ukraine and the political crisis in Italy.
In Paris, the CAC 40 ended down 0.27% at 6,184.66 points. The British Footsie fell by 0.44% and the German Dax lost 0.2%.
L’indice EuroStoxx 50 0,06%, le FTSEurofirst 300 0,32% et le Stoxx 600 0,21%.
European stock markets still benefited in the morning from information from Archyde.com on the expected resumption of Russian gas flows passing through Nord Stream 1 on Thursday, but Brussels’ proposal to European Union countries to temporarily reduce their gas consumption in the face of fears of a halt in deliveries from Russia has cast a chill.
The offensive declarations of the Russian Foreign Minister on Moscow’s new territorial objectives in Ukraine have also reinforced the prospect of an even longer war, with the economic repercussions that this implies.
“Fears seem to be resurfacing over Europe’s gas supply and the possibility of a deep recession in the region. This negative sentiment has allowed safe havens to regain the upper hand,” said Stuart Cole, Chief Macroeconomist at Equiti Capital.
Another factor of uncertainty, the President of the Italian Council Mario Draghi faces a vote of confidence from the senators, thus still leaving the threat of a resignation of the former boss of the European Central Bank. The result of the vote is expected around 5:30 p.m. GMT.
The Milan Stock Exchange underperformed the other major European indices, losing 1.6%.
VALUES
On the stock market, Carrefour gained 0.68% thanks to the sale of 60% of its activity in Taiwan to Uni-President.
In Amsterdam, meal delivery company Just Eat Takeaway jumped 9.07% following news broke of 390 jobs in France, which should underpin investor confidence in the group’s path to profitability, according to Andrew Porteous, analyst at HSBC.
A big loser on the AEX index, Dutch paints and coatings maker AkzoNobel fell 1.36% following reporting weaker-than-expected quarterly profit.
In Germany, Uniper won 12.69% in reaction to reports that the German state plans to take a 30% stake in the energy supplier and allow it to pass on certain costs to its customers. .
IN WALL STREET
At the time of the European close, the New York Stock Exchange was up supported by corporate results: the Dow Jones index took 0.13%, the Standard & Poor’s 500 0.67% and the Nasdaq 1.61% .
Netflix climbed 5.5% following saying it expected a recovery in the number of subscribers on its streaming platform for the current quarter. Other digital giants like Apple and Meta took 1.43% and 2.8% respectively.
“Right now, investors seem more willing to reward than punish, with trader sentiment already steeped in pessimism,” said Steve Sosnick, strategist at Interactive Brokers.
THE INDICATORS OF THE DAY
In the macroeconomic chapter, the rise in consumer prices in the United Kingdom reached 9.4% over one year in June, its highest since 1982, official statistics show.
In the United States, home resales fell in June for the fifth consecutive month, to 5.12 million, a two-year low due to record house prices and the rapid rise in interest rates.
CHANGES
On the foreign exchange market, the euro fell 0.15% to 1.0209 dollars in the face of fears of a serious energy crisis in Europe.
The single currency has taken more than 3% over the last four sessions on the prospect of a larger than expected rate hike from the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday.
The dollar gained 0.12% once morest a basket of international currencies.
RATE
On the bond side, the ten-year BTP rate ended up around 3.49%, market players fearing the resignation of Mario Draghi from his position as Chairman of the Board if he does not obtain the confidence of Italian parliamentarians.
The ten-year German Bund yield ended down regarding two basis points at 1.25%.
In the United States, the ten-year grabbed a basis point at 3.034%.
OIL
Oil prices are falling as data from the US Energy Information Agency showed a drop in demand for gasoline this week.
The barrel of Brent yields 0.49% to 106.82 dollars a barrel and that of American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) 0.67% to 103.52 dollars.
(Written by Juliette Portala, edited by Laetitia Volga)
