(Paris) Global markets were moving without a clear direction on Wednesday on the eve of the end of work on the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline after which Russia could resume gas deliveries to Germany and the meeting of the European Central Bank .
Posted at 7:03 a.m.
European financial markets were up slightly around 4:30 a.m. during a particularly volatile session. Paris took 0.10% and London 0.29%, despite very high inflation figures in the United Kingdom (9.4% over one year in June). Frankfurt gained 0.13%.
Long in the red, Milan gained 0.54% after Prime Minister Mario Draghi called for a new “pact” of confidence to save his government.
In Asia, Tokyo took 2.67% signing its strongest rise in four months. In China, Shanghai rose 0.77% and Hong Kong 1.11% in the latest trade.
On Tuesday, the New York Stock Exchange ended on a positive note, driven by better-than-expected corporate earnings and a weaker dollar.
The Dow Jones gained 2.43%, the broader S&P 500 index 2.76% and the technology-heavy NASDAQ 3.11%.
In Europe, markets were anticipating a reopening of the two Nord Stream 1 pipelines that supply Germany and other Western European countries with Russian gas.
This prospect “helped the markets to allay, in the short term, fears of an energy shock with a slight decrease in European gas prices”, comments Susannah Streeter of Hargreaves Lansdown.
The price of European benchmark natural gas, the Dutch TTF, which has been falling for a week, rose 4.108% to 158,585 euros around 3:50 a.m.
Russian President Vladimir Putin assured Tuesday that the giant Gazprom would fully fulfill its obligations to its suppliers, but the European authorities are preparing for a sharp reduction or even a halt in deliveries.
They must announce during the day a plan to overcome the fall in Russian gas deliveries by targeting the reduction in demand from companies and individuals.
Another event scrutinized closely by investors, the meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday. The markets are anticipating a 50 basis point rise in key rates, greater than initially expected, and are awaiting the presentation of an “anti-fragmentation” tool.
The ECB has in fact undertaken to present a mechanism intended to limit the widening of the interest rate differential for State debts in the euro zone.
Proof of the markets’ optimism, the spreads between the rates of European states and Germany, which serves as a benchmark, were down around 4 a.m. That between Italy and Germany, much observed by investors, lost 8.3 basis points.
Gas full of energy
The French giant TotalEnergies announced on Wednesday the launch of an engineering study phase on a major gas project in Papua New Guinea, before a final investment decision expected at the end of 2023 for a start of production at the end of 2027.
Around 3:40 am, the action of the group took 1.29%.
The German group Uniper, pending a state bailout, gained 4.71%.
The Royal Mail struggling
The logistics group Royal Mail fell 5% at the start of the session after publishing an operating loss and revenue down 11.5% year on year in the first quarter of its 2022/2023 financial year.
The group also sees a declining market for post-pandemic parcel deliveries, in addition to a structural decline in couriers.
On the side of oil and currencies
U.S. gasoline prices have been falling steadily since an all-time high in mid-June, a welcome development for President Joe Biden, attributed to slowing U.S. demand as well as recession fears.
The barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in September lost 1.28% to 105.98 dollars.
That of American West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery in August, fell 1.75% to 102.40 dollars.
Bitcoin was up 0.54% at $23,435.00.