Paris (awp/afp) – Wall Street opens optimistically and the European stock markets recover on Thursday, reassured by data on employment in the United States, after having received with difficulty low activity figures in the euro zone and a Chinese indicator disappointing.
For the first session of 2025, the main American stock indices, the Nasdaq (+0.52%), the S&P 500 (+0.58%) and the Dow Jones (+0.72%) opened higher.
Around 2:25 p.m. GMT, Frankfurt regained 0.22% and London 0.79%. It remained more difficult for the Paris Stock Exchange, which lost 0.41%. Zurich was closed.
For Europe, “a lot of things today depend on the session in the United States”, indicates Andreas Lipkow, independent analyst.
In fact, Thursday’s publication of weekly figures for initial unemployment compensation claims in the United States gives encouraging signs for the American economy, and contributed to the recovery of certain European markets mid-session.
Around 211,000 new registrants were recorded last week, less than the expected figure of 219,500 people. This is the lowest level since April.
In this context, the dollar rose at 2:15 p.m. GMT, by 0.41% against the euro, to 1.0313 dollars per euro.
The single European currency fell on Thursday to its lowest level since the end of November 2022 against the greenback.
Earlier, investors learned of a set of final PMI indicators for December in the Eurozone.
In France, manufacturing production suffered its biggest decline in December since May 2020. The buyers’ PMI index for the manufacturing industry stood at 41.9, compared to 43.1 in November. In Germany, this indicator also fell, to 42.5 points, compared to 43 previously.
For the euro zone, it remained stable at 45.1, compared to 45.2 the previous month.
On the bond side, the ten-year American borrowing rate rose around 2:15 p.m. GMT to 4.55%, compared to 4.57% at Tuesday’s close.
In Europe, the German ten-year interest rate, the European benchmark rate, fell compared to Tuesday, to 2.34%, compared to 2.36%. Its French equivalent stood at 3.19%.
-In addition, investors had to digest a disappointing indicator from China.
The country’s manufacturing activity continued to grow in December, but at a slower pace than the previous month, according to figures released Thursday.
In Europe, luxury was suffering at 2:20 p.m. GMT: on the CAC 40, Hermès lost 2.20%, Dior 2.07%, Kering 1.95% and LVMH 1.59%.
On Wednesday, Shanghai lost 2.66%, Hong Kong 2.18% and Shenzhen 3.14%.
The gas tap cut off in Europe ___
The price of Dutch TTF gas, a benchmark in Europe, rose 3.22% around 2:15 p.m. GMT, to 50.47 euros, compared to the day before.
The market is under pressure after deliveries of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine definitively ceased on Wednesday, following the expiration of a contract signed between the two parties at the end of 2019 and maintained despite the invasion of country by Russia.
Oil prices climbed on Thursday, driven by the prospect of economic recovery measures in China favorable to demand and brisk consumption in the United States.
Around 2:15 p.m. GMT, the price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea, for delivery in March, rose 1.59% to $75.83. Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate, for delivery in February, rose 1.73% to $72.96.
Vodafone completes the sale of its Italian subsidiary ___
The British telephone group Vodafone (+1.08% in London) announced on Thursday the finalization of the sale of its Italian subsidiary to Swisscom, announced in March for 8 billion euros, part of which will allow it to reduce its debt and another will be redistributed to shareholders.
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