(Paris) World stock markets stabilize on Thursday and bond rates move at high levels, after the publication of the minutes of the last meeting of the American Federal Reserve (Fed) which does not rule out the possibility of future increases rate.
On the Old Continent, around 7:15 a.m. (Eastern time), Paris and Frankfurt are stable, London dropped some 0.14%.
Wall Street was heading for a slightly higher open. Dow Jones futures climbed 0.23%, the S
Published Wednesday evening, after the close of European markets, the minutes of the last meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the American Federal Reserve (FOMC), on July 25 and 26, focus the attention of investors on Thursday.
This shows that at the end of this meeting, “a few members indicated that they favored maintaining the rates or that they could support such a proposal”, according to these minutes.
While diverging opinions were expressed regarding the rate hike, all participants felt that “maintaining the current level of restriction (of monetary policy, editor’s note) should make it possible to get closer to the objective” of 2 % inflation on an annual basis, “while allowing time for the committee to assess this progress”.
Furthermore, “most participants recognized that there were still risks” of persistent inflation that may “require further tightening of monetary policy”, it said.
But “markets had become accustomed to the idea that July’s rate hike was likely the last and the minutes challenge that assumption,” said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.
The reaction was not long in coming: “very logically, the yields of Treasury bonds have taken the elevator”, underlines John Plassard, investment specialist for Mirabaud.
The US 10-year rose briefly to its highest since October 2022 (4.33%) and stood at 4.30% around 7:15 a.m. EST.
On the European bond market, rates were also tightening: the yield on the 10-year German government bond stood at 2.69% against 2.65% at the close the previous day. French at the same time was at 3.23% against 3.19%, flirting with its highest level since 2011.
In Asia, the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed in the red in the wake of Wall Street. The flagship Nikkei index lost 0.44%. In China, Shanghai gained 0.43% and Hong Kong ended even (-0.01%).
Adyen, the Dutch online payments specialist, dropped more than 27% in Amsterdam after announcing first-half net profit below analysts’ expectations.
In its wake, Worldline fell 1.66% in Paris and Nexi 1.86% in Milan.
The British defense and aerospace group BAE Systems (-4.06% in London around 7:15 a.m. Eastern time) announced Thursday an agreement to buy the American Ball Corporation its subsidiary Ball Aerospace for 5.55 billion dollars in cash (5.10 billion euros).
Oil prices were recovering slightly, after three sessions of declines, as the resilience of the US economy and its demand offset concerns about China’s economic health.
Around 7:15 a.m. (Eastern time), a barrel of Brent North Sea, for October delivery, took 0.93% to 84.23 dollars and a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery in September, gained 0.89% to $80.09.
The dollar remained high against the euro after Fed minutes and strong industrial data, bolstering expectations of sustainably high US interest rates.
The greenback was close to balance (-0.06%) at 1.0886 dollars per euro compared to the day before around 5 p.m. (Eastern time).