2024-02-01 22:38:31
(Photo: 123RF)
MARKET REVIEWS. World stock markets are struggling on Thursday, with central banks persisting in not wanting to relax their guard too soon in the face of inflation and with company results poorly received in Europe.
Stock market indices at 7:30 a.m.
Futures contracts Dow Jones gained +55.00 points (+0.14%) to 38,335.00 points. Futures contracts S&P 500 advanced +21.00 points (+0.43%) to 4,891.50 points. Futures contracts Nasdaq rose by +101.00 points (+0.59%) to 17,343.25 points.
In London, the FTSE 100 rose by +24.89 points (+0.33%) to 7,655.46 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 dropped -54.81 points (-0.72%) to 7,601.94 points. In Frankfurt, the DAX decreased by -13.94 points (-0.08%) to 16,889.82 points.
In Asia, the Nikkei of Tokyo closed down -275.25 points (-0.76%) at 36,011.46 points. For his part, the Hang Seng Hong Kong gained +81.14 points (+0.52%) to 15,566.21 points.
On the oil side, the price of a barrel of American WTI gained +US$0.56 (+0.74%) to US$76.41. The barrel of North Sea Brent gained +US$0.17 (+0.21%) to US$81.88.
The context
Central banks continue to drive markets with the Bank of England meeting on Thursday. It decided to leave its rates unchanged, showing itself to be very reserved regarding the possibility of lowering them.
Earlier, the central bank of Sweden announced on Thursday the maintenance of its key rate at 4%, but mentioned its reduction “as early as this semester”.
On Wednesday, the American Central Bank “redoubled its efforts to refute forecasts of rate cuts from March”, the date targeted by the markets for several months, explains Paolo Zanghieri, economist at Generali Investments. “Six months of good inflation figures are not enough” for the Fed to “claim victory” according to him.
A sign that the fight once morest inflation has not yet been won in the euro zone either, the rate of price increases in January slowed down less than expected and stood at 2.8%.
In detail, “the stagnation of inflation in services will reassure the European Central Bank in the idea that it is necessary to be prudent,” estimates Juliette Cohen, member of the CPU AM strategy team.
On the bond market, interest rates in European countries and the United States were rising. The American borrowing rate rose to around 3.94%, compared to 3.91% on Wednesday.
After Wall Street closes, new technology stock giants, such as Apple, Amazon and Meta, must publish their annual results.
European banks on the grill
The results BNP Paribas (-7.61%) were poorly received, the record net profit for the third consecutive year being marred by the difficulties encountered in the consumer credit and real estate businesses.
The Dutch bank ING (-6.66%) was also punished by investors, following results that were less good than expected and few prospects.
The German banking giant Deutsche Bank (+4.12%), in permanent restructuring since 2019, announced Thursday that it would cut 3,500 jobs by 2025 following reporting a drop in its profit in 2023.
Julius Baer (+7.32%), shaken by its loans to the Austrian real estate empire Signa, announced Thursday the departure of its managing director, Philipp Rickenbache.
Volvo less invested in Polestar
The Swedish car manufacturer Volvo Cars announced Thursday that it would stop investing in Polestar, a specialist in high-end electric vehicles, which will now be financed by its parent company, the Chinese group Geely. Volvo Cars owns 48.3% of Polestar, but is “considering a potential adjustment” of its stake.
This plan excited investors since on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, the stock jumped 21.45%.
On the side of oil and currencies
Oil prices rose on Thursday before an OPEC+ technical meeting, remaining supported by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, with investors paying attention to a potential response from the United States following the death of American soldiers in Jordan.
The barrel of Brent took 0.65% to US$81.06 and a barrel of WTI 0,63% à 76,34 $US.
On the foreign exchange market, the euro fell 0.05% once morest the dollar, to US$1.0812 per euro and the pound fell 0.18% to 1.2554 pounds per dollar.
The bitcoin fell 0.86% to US$42,090.
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