(Paris) European stock markets accelerated on Wednesday, stimulated by the rebound in Asian markets, awaiting information on the progress of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, which resumed on Wednesday, and the central bank’s monetary decision. US (Fed).
Posted at 7:09
Updated at 7:38 a.m.
Around 7 a.m., the Parisian CAC 40 index rose by 3.40% to 6,570.85 points, Frankfurt advanced by 3.13% and Milan by 3.12%, supported by luxury and technology stocks stimulated by the ‘Asia. London took 1.16%.
On Wall Street, futures on the major indices pointed to a rise of between 1.09% on the Dow Jones and 1.90% on the tech-heavy NASDAQ index ahead of the open.
The uptrend was initiated in Asia, where China’s financial leaders pledged on Wednesday to maintain stability in capital markets and craft effective policies against real estate risks, according to state media. Enough to boost the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (+9.08% at the close) and that of Shanghai by 3.5%. Tokyo gained 1.64%.
Tech heavyweights grew wings (+20% for Alibaba, Tencent and NetEase), sending the Hang Seng tech index soaring 20% in Hong Kong which transmitted its Olympic form to the entire sector listed abroad.
“Risk appetite is back everywhere, and the panic in the markets is clearly fading as investors digest the latest positive macroeconomic developments brought by China and the diplomatic talks between Russia and Ukraine. “, observes Pierre Veyret, analyst at ActivTrades.
Although the mood has improved in the equity market, volatility remains in place as investors await the press conference of the president of the American central bank Jerome Powell after the close of the European markets.
Investors anticipate an increase in key rates by 25 basis points, the triggering of a series of 5 or 6 hikes expected this year which should, according to their projection, push rates up to around 1.50%.
They hope the Fed’s findings will shed some clarity on the medium-term outlook, “as continuing uncertainties related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could challenge some of Jerome Powell’s initial projections.” emphasizes Mr. Veyret.
Inditex does worse than expected
Spanish clothing giant Inditex, owner of the Zara brand, posted a sharply higher profit last year, but still fell short of expectations, due to a drop in activity linked to the Omicron variant in the last quarter. The action lost 1.83% to 21.43 euros in Madrid.
BMW dashboard shadow
German automaker BMW warned on Wednesday that the war in Ukraine will weigh on profitability and sales in 2022 due to production disruptions caused by a lack of supplies from the country, especially cables. The title, however, gained 3.21% to 77.62 euros in Frankfurt.
Oil supply risk
The drop in oil that had reassured equity markets at the start of the week continued below $100, after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday it feared a “shock” on global oil supply. , following sanctions against Russia taken after its invasion of Ukraine, while lowering its demand forecast for 2022.
North Sea Brent oil for May delivery, which closed below $100 on Tuesday for the first time since the second day of Ukraine’s invasion almost three weeks ago, was blowing again .
The benchmark price for this variety of oil fell 0.43% to $99.62, while a barrel of US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery dropped 0.50% to $95.96 around 6:50 a.m. .
The euro gained 0.36% against the greenback, trading at 1.0996 dollars.
Taking advantage of the renewed risk appetite, bitcoin rose 2.58% to $40,466.