London gleans 0.11%, Frankfurt 0.15% and Paris 0.25%. In Zurich, the SMI rose by 0.39%.
Global stock markets were up slightly on Monday, maintaining their bullish momentum despite disappointing economic activity indicators in China and the United States, while talks on Iran’s nuclear deal lowered oil prices.
Wall Street evolved in small progression, always looking for a direction: around 3:45 p.m. GMT, the Dow Jones advanced by 0.15%, the Nasdaq by 0.30% and the S&P 500 by 0.06%.
In Europe, the markets also ended timidly in the green: London gained 0.11%, Frankfurt 0.15% and Paris 0.25%. Investors in Europe were less numerous than usual, August 15 being for example a holiday in France and the Milan Stock Exchange being closed. In Zurich, the SMI gained 0.39%.
The main movement came from the oil market: wrongly oriented following a slowdown in activity in China, prices amplified their fall, following the head of Iranian diplomacy affirmed that his country would send its “final proposals” on the dossier before midnight local time (19:30 GMT).
These negotiations might lead to the end of sanctions for this key member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
The barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in October lost 3.98% to 94.25 dollars around 3:40 p.m. GMT. That of American WTI for delivery in September yielded 4.42%, to 88.00 dollars.
Prices fell more than 20% in two and a half months.
For their part, stock markets were weighed down in particular by the unexpected slowdown in retail sales and industrial production in July in China, due to a rebound from Covid-19 and a crisis in real estate.
Enough to push the Chinese central bank to lower several of its key rates to support the economy.
“This slowdown confirms the hypothesis according to which the good figures of May and June corresponded to the rebound of the reopening (following the confinements linked to Covid-19) and that now (…) the Chinese factories will, once more, turn to the slowed down”, commented, in a note, Craig Botham, of Pantheon Macroeconomics.
And the United States, whose economic robustness has fueled part of the stock market rebound observed for several weeks, did not come in support on Monday: manufacturing activity in the New York region even recorded its largest drop since April 2020.
The fear of a recession was lowering interest rates on the bond market: the interest rate for the US 10-year loan fell to 2.78%, once morest 2.83% on Friday.
Slowing economic activity and easing inflation last week gave investors hope that the US central bank would take less restrictive measures to fight rising prices, supporting equities. The minutes of discussions from the last Fed meeting will be published on Wednesday.
“Investors do not lose their summer calm and maintain their positions despite not really optimal conditions”, remarks Konstantin Oldenburger, CMC Markets
Commodities are falling
The hydrocarbon giants suffered from the fall in prices: TotalEnergies lost 2.35% and Shell 1.49% in Europe. On Wall Street, ExxonMobil (-2.54%), Chevron (-2.41%) or ConocoPhillips (-2.41%) followed.
The same is true for mining, with ArcelorMittal at -1.31%, Anglo American at -2.46% and US Steel at -4.44%.
New Moderna vaccine once morest Covid-19 approved
Britain’s medicines regulator announced Monday that it has approved a new generation of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine targeting the widely used Omicron variant, a world first according to the lab. The stock rose 2.73% on Wall Street.
The British laboratory AstraZeneca also rose by 2.33%, following the results of a study on its cancer drug Enhertu.
Acquisitions also supported the French laboratories Eurofins (+2.27%) and Ipsen (+2.05%).
On the currency side
The euro lost 0.69% once morest the greenback at 1.0189 dollars around 3:45 p.m. GMT.
Bitcoin fell 0.58% to $24,180.
