A sign for Wall Street hangs in front of the New York Stock Exchange
by Claude Chendjou
Wall Street is expected to see slight variations at the opening on Wednesday, with investors likely to opt for caution before the publication of a key inflation indicator in the United States. Futures on New York indices signal an opening on Wall Street down 0.08% for the Dow Jones, but up 0.12% for the Standard & Poor’s 500 and 0.22% for the Nasdaq.
The European stock markets, for their part, are volatile mid-session, with investors digesting numerous company results, some of which are considered disappointing. In Paris, the CAC 40 advanced 0.17% to 7,407.33 points around 11:50 GMT. In Frankfurt, the Dax nibbles 0.04% and in London, the FTSE gains 0.14%.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose by 0.05% and the eurozone’s EuroStoxx 50 by 0.01%. The Stoxx 600 grabs 0.05%.
The positive trend in Europe is fragile, with stock indices alternating between one foot in the green and another in the red, while the Stoxx 600, at Monday’s close, recorded seven sessions in a row of gains.
All eyes are mainly on the publication at 1:30 p.m. GMT of monthly consumer price figures (CPI) in the United States. The CPI for the month of November is expected, according to the Reuters consensus, to accelerate slightly. This will be one of the last major statistics in the United States before the December 17 and 18 meeting of the American Federal Reserve (Fed). The market anticipates a Fed rate cut of 25 basis points this month, but uncertainty is high for the future due to the economic program of American President-elect Donald Trump, considered inflationary.
“We do not expect a return to the world of neutral and low rates that prevailed before Covid-19,” write in a note Deutsche Bank rate strategists, who see the neutral real rate in the United States at 1.75 %-2%.
The monetary policy of the European Central Bank (ECB) is also being monitored by the markets as the institution must make its decisions on Thursday. VALUES TO FOLLOW AT WALL STREET
General Motors gains 1% in pre-market trading after announcing it will end the development of robot taxis in its loss-making joint venture Cruise.
Gamestop advances 3.9% in pre-market trading after announcing a third quarter profit.
VALUES IN EUROPE
Numerous results are driving discussions in Europe, notably with Inditex, the world number one in ready-to-wear and owner of the Zara brand. The Spanish group lost 6.14% after posting quarterly turnover and profit lower than expectations on Wednesday. The European distribution sector fell by 2.51%.
TUI drops 2.27% after publishing a profit in line for 2024 and forecasting a profit for 2025 also in line with expectations, with a German trader believing that these results and forecasts are not “good enough”.
Carl Zeiss fell 9.18% as the German optical systems manufacturer reported weaker than expected annual results.
About You jumped 65.9% in reaction to the announcement by Zalando (-5.46%) of a stake in the fashion group for 1.1 billion euros.
Siemens Energy lost almost 1% in reaction to the warning from American competitor GE Vernova, which was cautious about the prospects for the wind power sector.
CHANGES
The dollar appreciated on Wednesday, by 0.25%, against a basket of six currencies before the American inflation figures. The greenback is also boosted by information from Reuters according to which China was considering letting the yuan weaken in 2025 to prepare for an increase in customs duties wanted by Donald Trump.
The euro fell by 0.27%, to 1.0498 dollars, and the pound sterling traded at 1.2730 dollars (-0.31%).
RATE
The yield gap between the Bund and the ten-year OAT rose slightly on Wednesday, to around 77 basis points, while President Emmanuel Macron pledged to appoint a successor to Michel Barnier by Thursday, pleading for a non-censorship agreement between the different political groups.
The ten-year German Bund yield is stable, at 2.11%, and that of its French equivalent rises 1.5 bp, to 2.887%.
The yield on ten-year US Treasury bonds increased by 2.1 basis points to 4.2399%.
OIL
The oil market is rising on Wednesday, with operators anticipating an increase in Chinese demand following Beijing’s latest announcements aimed at stimulating economic growth.
Brent rose 0.90% to $72.83 per barrel and American light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI) rose 0.93% to $69.24.
(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Augustin Turpin)
Related News :