Paris (awp/afp) – World stock markets are moving in the red on Tuesday, worried about rising tensions in Ukraine, which results in investors preferring assets considered safer, such as bonds or gold.
In Europe, around 12:40 GMT, the Paris Stock Exchange lost 1.16%, Frankfurt 1.10% and London 0.34%, around 12:40 GMT. Milan fell by 1.87%.
On Wall Street, pre-session contracts were also in decline, with a decline of 0.14% for the Nasdaq, 0.27% for the S&P 500 and 0.49% for the Dow Jones.
“Tensions in Ukraine have never been so high,” notes John Plassard, investment specialist for Mirabaud.
However, these risks are added to “political questions in the United States” concerning “the new members of the Trump government” and “microeconomic” expectations, with “the publication of the results of the giant Nvidia on Wednesday”, he adds.
On the thousandth day of the Russian invasion, Ukraine swore to “never” submit to Russia, which again raised the specter of resorting to nuclear weapons and promised to win this war.
The outgoing US administration of Joe Biden gave the Ukrainians a boost by authorizing them to strike Russian soil with US long-range missiles, a red line for Moscow.
Vladimir Putin responded on Tuesday, by signing the decree formalizing his new nuclear doctrine which broadens the possibility of using atomic weapons in the event of a “massive” air assault carried out by a non-nuclear country, but supported by a nuclear power. Clear references to Ukraine and the United States.
In this context, government bonds, considered safer, were sought after, leading to a drop in their interest rates.
Around 12:30 GMT, the 10-year American bond rate was at 4.37%, compared to 4.41 the day before, and its German counterpart, a benchmark in Europe, fell to 2.33%, compared to 2.37% the previous day. day before.
Gold, the ultimate safe haven, “also benefits from geopolitical anxiety,” notes Stephen Innes, analyst at SPI Asset Management. Around 12:40 GMT, the ounce rose 0.91% compared to the day before, to $2,635.77.
Defense stocks are also showing gains: around 12:40 GMT, Rheinmetall gained 3.78% and Renk (+4.03%) in Germany. Elsewhere in Europe, the French Thales (+0.86%) and the British BAE Systems (+0.66%) were among the only positive values of European indices in sharp decline.
The markets are still waiting, moreover, “to know who will be appointed to the post of Treasury Secretary”, recalls Jim Reid, economist at Deutsche Bank.
Another focus for investors: the results on Wednesday of American chip heavyweight Nvidia, the world’s largest capitalization.
They should “either crown the artificial intelligence sector as the undisputed king or trigger a radical rethinking of the sector’s very high valuations”, according to Stephen Innes.
In Asia, in Tokyo, the flagship Nikkei index closed up 0.51%. In China, the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.67%, Shenzhen gained 1.90% and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong 0.44%.
Thyssenkrupp confident
The German industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp announced on Tuesday a new net annual loss for its staggered 2023/2024 financial year, but it expects to come out of the red, with a net profit expected between 100 and 500 million euros, prospects welcomed by the walk.
In Frankfurt, the group’s action rose 9.47% around 12:30 GMT.
Oil decline
Oil prices fell slightly on Tuesday with the partial resumption of production from the Norwegian Sverdrup oil field in the North Sea. Around 12:30 GMT, the price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea, for delivery in January, lost 0.37% to $73.03. Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery in December, fell 0.49% to $68.82.
On the currency side, the dollar continues to gain value, driven by the prospects of Donald Trump’s inflationary policies. Around 12:30 GMT, it rose 0.32% against the single currency, to 1.0566 dollars per euro.
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