(Paris) World stock markets are moving lower on Monday, due to profit taking after a largely positive week and in the absence of American investors on this holiday.
In Europe, trading volumes are reduced and Paris fell by 0.52%, Frankfurt by 0.65%, London by 0.49% and Milan by 0.20% around 7:15 am (Eastern time) .
In Asia, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange slid 0.64%, Shanghai lost 0.54% and Tokyo lost 1%, weighed down by profit taking.
The New York Stock Exchange will be closed on Monday, a holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States.
“The week begins on positive geopolitical waves, as the weekend talks between the United States and China went well,” commented Ipek Ozkardeskaya, analyst at Swissquote Bank.
Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed “progress” and “common ground” with Washington on Monday during a rare meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing, according to comments broadcast by state television. CCTV.
Antony Blinken for his part affirmed that the United States and China want to “stabilize” their relations and that the United States does not seek to “stifle” Chinese economic development.
This interview comes on the second and last day of Mr. Blinken’s visit to China, a first in nearly five years for a head of American diplomacy.
Investors had hoped at the end of last week for measures to support the Chinese economy, which is not experiencing the expected post-COVID-19 growth, but the absence of an official announcement dampened their optimism on Monday.
The subject of monetary policy and interest rate guidelines remains highly studied by the markets. Speeches by representatives of the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank are also on the agenda. “They will most certainly give nuances on the monetary policy meetings of the last week”, commented the analysts of Deutsche Bank.
On Wednesday, the president of the monetary institution Jerome Powell will be heard in the US House of Representatives, before a passage in the Senate on Thursday, an opportunity for investors to learn more about the intentions of the Fed.
The Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank are meeting in turn this week and will decide on their monetary policy.
Sovereign bond yields are stable.
Sartorius down sharply
The supplier of materials for the biopharmaceutical sector Sartorius Stedim Biotech (SSB) recorded a sharp drop in its title of 12.98% in Paris after having revised its sales forecasts for 2023 downwards on Friday.
Its parent company Sartorius, listed in Frankfurt, lost 14.10% after the announcement on Friday evening of a lowering of its 2023 forecasts, implying a downward revision of around 25% of its previous gross operating profit targets. .
AstraZeneca vaccinates against tensions
British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has devised a plan to spin off its China operations and float them on the Hong Kong stock exchange in a new entity, which would remain under its control, to “protect the company against rising geopolitical tensions”, according to the report. Financial Times (FT).
Its action lost 1.34% in London.
On the side of currencies and commodities
Oil prices started the week in the red on Monday, investors still showing concern about Chinese demand for black gold, the increase in Iranian exports also weighing on prices.
Around 7:10 am (Eastern time), a barrel of Brent North Sea, for delivery in August, fell 0.14% to 76.50 dollars.
Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in July, lost 0.35% to 71.53 dollars.
The price of the benchmark European contract for natural gas, the Dutch TTF, fell further by 7.74% to 32.30 euros.
The European currency was down slightly (-0.15%) against the dollar at 1.0920 dollars.