(Paris) The world markets are rather wait-and-see before the publication of an inflation indicator in the United States and hoping for a positive outcome to the negotiations on the American debt ceiling.
European indices opened slightly higher, but the trend turned slightly around 3:35 a.m. (Eastern time): Paris was stable (0.01%), London up 0.20% thanks to stocks mining, while Frankfurt (-0.14%) and Milan (-0.47%) fell slightly.
In Asia, Tokyo gained 0.37%, buoyed by yen weakness and the tech sector after processor giant Nvidia’s blazing forecast sent the NASDAQ jumping 1.7% in New York on Thursday.
Shanghai rose 0.35% and Hong Kong was closed for a public holiday.
In the United States, despite days and nights of discussions, the teams of Democratic leader Joe Biden and the negotiators of the Republican camp have not yet found a budget compromise to raise the American debt ceiling.
But these negotiations are “productive”, executive spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday, seeing it as proof that there is “a way forward” towards an agreement. President Biden also sounded optimistic on Thursday, assuring there would be “no default.”
Without an agreement, the United States could well find itself as of June 1 in default of payment. But according to Stephen Innes, an analyst at SPI Asset Management, it’s possible that the actual date when available funds will be exhausted will be later and “some lawmakers may start to see the deadline as a bit more flexible.”
The analyst therefore fears that “the discussions could drag on, despite a probability of agreement greater than 70%”.
On Friday, investors’ attention will turn to the publication of the PCE index, the inflation indicator in the United States favored by the American Central Bank.
In recent weeks, several officials of the institution have postponed the scenario of an end to the cycle of hikes in the Federal Reserve’s key rates by the end of the year.
Investors have therefore adjusted their expectations, with the market now increasingly expecting a further rate hike from the Fed in June.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said, “The fact that inflation has peaked in the near term is nevertheless encouraging,” as it implies that interest rates will only rise slightly further.
When it resumed trading after three days of suspension, the action of the distributor Casino fell by 7.10% in Paris, after the announcement of the opening of a conciliation procedure in order to renegotiate its significant debt.
The action of its parent company Rallye also lost 3.30%, after having unscrewed up to 15%.
Oil prices are fairly stable following a sharp decline. The barrel of Brent from the North Sea was at equilibrium (0.03%) at 76.30 dollars and the barrel of American WTI took 0.35% at 72.09 dollars around 3:30 a.m. (Eastern time). ).
The day after a sharp drop, the price of gas fell another 2.50%, to 24.82 euros per megawatt hour for the benchmark European contract, its lowest since May 2021.
Shares of mining groups are moving up sharply: in London, Anglo American took 3.11%, Rio Tinto 3.99%, BHP 3.20%, Antofagasta 3.59%, Glencore 2.95% and in Paris ArcelorMittal rose by 2.24%.
The euro remains weak (-0.13%) against the greenback at $1.0739 per euro.
Bitcoin fell 0.18% to $26,440.
