by Bertrand De Meyer
The main European stock markets are expected to rise on Tuesday at the opening before the confectioners' truce and for half a session on Euronext.
Futures contracts suggest an opening increase of 0.4% for the Parisian CAC 40, against an increase of 0.5% for the FTSE in London, a decline of 0.2% for the Dax in Frankfurt, and a revaluation by 0.04% for the EuroStoxx 50.
Investors are taking advantage of the last catalysts during a half-session which promises to be very calm due to the Christmas holidays and will be marked by little trading volumes on the main European stock exchanges.
The markets, however, benefited from the positive close on Wall Street yesterday, driven by mega-caps, after a session marked Monday by small losses and comments from Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), according to which the institution is “very close” to achieving its medium-term inflation target.
Investors should also welcome the composition of the Bayrou government announced Monday evening, including the appointment of Eric Lombard, until now director general of the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC), to the post of Minister of the Economy and Finance.
Elsewhere in the world, after a busy schedule in terms of data publications and speeches by monetary policy makers, the next sessions promise to be calm across the Atlantic.
It is from China that European investors should find positive signals, the Minister of Finance having declared on Tuesday that Beijing wanted to increase its budget deficit and its fiscal and overall spending in 2025 to stabilize growth.
A WALL STREET
The New York Stock Exchange ended up on Monday, driven by the Magnificent Seven of the tech sector, in a week shortened by the end-of-year holidays.
The Dow Jones index gained 0.16%, or 66.69 points, to 42,906.95 points.
The broader Standard & Poor's 500 gained 43.22 points, or 0.73% to 5,974.07 points.
The Nasdaq Composite advanced 192.29 points, or 0.98%, to 19,764.885 points.
Meta Platforms, Nvidia, Tesla and Alphabet, Google's parent company, all finished higher, between 2.3% and 3.7%.
IN ASIA
The Tokyo Stock Exchange ended down after several sessions of gains while Chinese stocks were driven by banking stocks.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange ended down 0.32%.
The Hong Kong Hang Seng index increased by 1.08%, the Shanghai SSE Composite strengthened by 0.81%, the CSI 300 recorded an increase of 0.84%.
RATE
US bond yields edged lower on Tuesday as investors digested the monetary outlook following the latest policy statements and data.
The ten-year Treasury yield declined 0.6 bps to 4.5927%, while the two-year Treasury yield fell 0.7 bps to 4.3427%.
CHANGES
The greenback holds near a two-year high helped by high U.S. Treasury yields as investors prepare for fewer rate cuts from the Federal Reserve in 2025.
The dollar gained 0.07% against a basket of reference currencies, the euro eroded by 0.13% to 1.0391 dollars, and the pound sterling was stable at 1.2533 dollars.
In Asia, the yen fell 0.11% to 156.99 yen per dollar, the Australian dollar lost 0.14% to 0.6237 dollars.
OIL
Oil is rising on Tuesday morning supported by the rather positive outlook in the United States after recent data considered reassuring.
Brent rose by 0.45% to $72.96 per barrel, American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) rose by 0.42% to $69.53.
(Written by Bertrand De Meyer, edited by Augustin Turpin)
