(Paris) World stock markets are moving around equilibrium on Monday, patiently waiting for the results of the American technology giants and new economic indicators.
In Europe, Paris (0.06%) and London (-0.03%) were close to balance. Milan fell 0.85% and Frankfurt took 0.10% after the publication of a slight increase in the morale of German entrepreneurs.
Futures contracts for the three main Wall Street indices were fluctuating in negative territory, but close to equilibrium.
In Asia, Hong Kong lost 0.58% and Shanghai 0.78% while Tokyo gained 0.10%.
Investors are holding their breath ahead of the US tech giants’ earnings release: Microsoft and Alphabet are due on Tuesday, Meta on Wednesday and Amazon on Thursday.
Their shares have jumped since the start of the year, from 19% for Microsoft to more than 75% for Meta, which has lifted the New York market.
The mood is also cautious ahead of the next meeting of the US central bank’s monetary policy committee, on May 2-3, whose members will not speak publicly until then.
“In the space of a few weeks, we have gone from expecting further rate hikes in the coming months, to expecting rates to cut by the end of the year, and in some cases even as early as this summer” , reports CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.
But inflation, which central banks are fighting against, remains “tenacious”, especially underlying inflation? which excludes energy and food prices.
The analyst therefore expects a further 25 basis point rate hike from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England and a 50 basis point hike from the European Central Bank.
“After that, rates will probably have to stay at their current level until 2024,” he predicts.
The agenda of macroeconomic indicators does not fill up until Thursday with the first estimate of US GDP growth in the first quarter, ahead of the PCE index on Friday, the inflation indicator favored by the Federal Reserve.
On Friday, investors will also learn of the first figures for inflation and GDP growth in the first quarter for several countries in the euro zone.
The market capitalization of the French luxury giant LVMH has reached 500 billion dollars (454 billion euros), a first for a European company, according to Bloomberg. Earlier in April, following the publication of its quarterly results, the group had entered the top 10 of the most valued companies in the world.
Around 7:45 a.m., its share grabbed 0.23% in Paris.
Dutch medical device maker Philips, struggling after a sleep apnea breathing device recall, set aside 575 million euros in the first quarter to face lawsuits in the United States. The group reported a net loss of 583 million euros but its adjusted performance came in above analysts’ forecasts polled by Bloomberg.
Its stock rose 12.33% in Amsterdam.
Oil prices fell slightly on Monday without crossing the symbolic threshold of $80 a barrel for Brent, as most of the gains made after OPEC production cuts evaporated amid fears over the global economy.
Around 7:45 a.m., a barrel of Brent North Sea crude for June delivery slid 0.33% to $81.39. Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery the same month fell 0.17% to 77.74 dollars.
On the foreign exchange market, the dollar retreated against several other currencies. The euro was worth 1.1004 dollars (0.16%).
Bitcoin was down 0.14% at $27,470.
On the bond market, interest rates on the sovereign debt of European and American states were moving close to their closing levels on Friday.