(New York) European markets ended with a strong rebound on Thursday, interpreting messages from central bankers as a harbinger of a pause in their fight against inflation, while on Wall Street, the technology sector was at risk. party.
The Frankfurt Stock Exchange gained 2.16%, Paris 1.26% and London 0.76%, after holding a wait-and-see position at the start of the week.
On Wall Street, the tech-heavy NASDAQ jumped 3.25% after better-than-expected results from Facebook. The S&P 500 index gained 1.47% while the Dow Jones fell 0.11%.
Eurozone borrowing rates fell sharply after announcements from the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of England (BoE): 10-year government bond yields fell 21 basis points in Germany, 27 basis points in France and 42 basis points in Italy.
“The markets are delighted with a marginally more optimistic discourse on the current dynamics and less categorical on the prospects for future increases” in rates, comments Raphaël Thuin, director of capital market strategies at Tikehau Capital.
The ECB reaffirmed its desire to further tighten its monetary policy by raising its main key rates by 0.50 percentage points on Thursday, as in December. It plans to raise them by the same amount in March to fight inflation and then assess the trajectory of its monetary policy.
“As was the case with the Fed, the markets concluded that the end of monetary tightening was near,” commented Christophe Boucher, Chief Investment Officer of ABN AMRO Investment Solutions.
The Bank of England also hiked rates by 50 basis points to 4%, the highest since 2008, to stem stubborn inflation in the UK, but paved the way for the end of the tightening.
“If wages and core inflation continue to point upwards with the same pressure, we can expect a further increase in interest rates, but probably less,” said Katrin Löhken, economist at DWS. .
The day before, the American central bank had, in line with expectations, raised its rates by 25 basis points, slowing the foot compared to the previous increases practiced since March 2022.
Even though Fed chief Jerome Powell has hinted at at least two more rate hikes, the market is adamant that given the slowdown in economic activity, the Fed will make one final rate hike in March before making pause at its May meeting and then lower them in the second half of the year.
Meta flew away
Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) soared more than 23% in New York despite annual revenue down 1% to $116.61 billion as the market expected a drop more brutal for the Californian group.
On the other hand, Apple, Amazon and Alphabet lost between 3% and 4% in electronic trading after the close after announcing accounts below expectations for the computer group and the internet giant. For Amazon, it is the prospects that worry.
Other results of the day
The Swedish household appliance group Electrolux announced Thursday heavier than expected losses in the fourth quarter and in 2022, its title fell by more than 9.22% in Stockholm.
The global communications giant Publicis (+6.37% in Paris) experienced a “new record year” in 2022, with sales up 20%.
On the side of currencies and oil
The euro and the pound fell sharply on Thursday against most major currencies after the meetings of the BoE and the ECB.
Around 4 p.m. (Eastern time), the pound lost 1.13% to 1.2236 dollars.
The euro lost 0.79% to 1.0913 dollars per euro.
A barrel of Brent North Sea oil for April delivery fell 0.80% to close at $82.17.
The barrel of American West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery in March, fell 0.69% to 75.88 dollars.