(Paris) Global stock markets are generally up on Wednesday ahead of the Fed’s decision, with markets expecting the US monetary institution to pause rate hikes for the first time since March 2022.
In Europe, Frankfurt reached a new session high of 16,336.27 points and finished at an all-time closing high of 16,310.79 points. During the session, the German index gained 0.49%. Paris gained 0.52%, London 0.10% and Milan 0.88%.
However, “this new session record should be viewed with mixed feelings. The simmering inflation and recession worries are at least for a while out of sight and therefore out of the minds of traders” in the market, judge Timo Emden, independent analyst.
On Wall Street, the NASDAQ gained 0.38% and the broader index S
Markets are focused on the outcome of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting which started on Tuesday and ends on Wednesday.
The chairman of the powerful American monetary institution, Jerome Powell, will give a press conference after the meeting of the monetary policy committee at 2:30 p.m. (Eastern time).
And “a priori the Fed will take a break” in its cycle of rate hikes, “the first after fifteen months of systematic hikes and before a potential hike on July 26,” said David Kruk, head of exchanges at La Financière de the Exchequer.
In the meantime, “the market is a bit digging in and trying to figure out what’s next,” after a strong first half of the year for equities, Kruk adds.
The week will also be marked by the decisions of the European Central Bank on Thursday and the Bank of Japan on Friday.
Oil giant Shell (0.37% in London) now expects ‘stable’ oil production through 2030, sparking consternation among environmentalists after the company unveiled 2021 targets to reduce 1% to 2% per year.
The European entity of the British bank HSBC (0.20% in London) announced on Wednesday a new agreement for the sale to My Money Group of its retail banking activities in France, a transaction which had been declared “less certain” in April due to rising interest rates.
The action of the Swiss manufacturer of computer accessories Logitech plunged on the stock market (-12.52% in Zurich) after the departure with immediate effect of Bracken Darrell, its emblematic boss, who saved the company and made it a nugget again of the Swiss Stock Exchange.
British operator Vodafone (0.52% in London) and Hong Kong holding company CK Hutchison are merging their UK operations to create the UK telecommunications leader and 5G champion they hope to grow to 16.5 billion pounds (19.3 billion euros).
The German automotive group Volkswagen (0.69% in Frankfurt) announced on Wednesday that it wanted to increase the operating margin of its flagship VW brand to 6.5% by 2026, more than doubling compared to the existing one, by means of a deep plan of reorganization.
Aston Martin gained more than 7% in London. In Paris, Renault gained 3.94% and Daimler 2.11% in Frankfurt.
Oil is still advancing a little after its rebound on Tuesday, driven by a more accommodating policy from the Chinese Central Bank, allowing to consider a revival of demand, as well as a greater appetite for risk.
The barrel of Brent fell 0.68% to 73.78 dollars and that of American WTI by 0.77% to 68.88 dollars around 11:55 a.m. (Eastern time).
The euro advanced 0.57% to $1.0855.
Bitcoin was up 0.42% at $25,957.
