(Paris) The stock markets Friday continued their positive trend of the day before, optimistic after statements in the accommodating tone of an official of the American central bank and a slight relaxation of bond rates.
The European stock market has been progressing since the opening. Around 7:40 am (Eastern time), Paris rose by 0.75%, Frankfurt by 1.04%, Milan by 1.35% and London grabbed 0.08%.
Wall Street was heading for an open higher as well, according to futures for the three major indices which were up around 0.4%.
In China, Hong Kong gained 0.68% and Shanghai 0.54%, supported by a strong increase in services activity in February according to the PMI index.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 1.56%, mimicking the trend on Wall Street where the indices all ended in the green on Thursday.
Speculation on the evolution of monetary policies and interest rates has been rife since the publication of higher-than-expected inflation figures in the United States and the euro zone.
Atlanta Federal Reserve Chairman Raphael Bostic, who on Thursday said he was in favor of a 25-point hike citing a possible pause in rate hikes in the summer, brought some optimism to the markets. Bond rates eased slightly on Friday.
On the other hand, another official supports additional rate hikes, if inflation remains tenacious.
Sovereign bond yields had a good week and returned to levels not seen in more than ten years, under pressure from expectations that inflation will remain persistent and push central banks to remain firm.
The rate on the 10-year German government bond, which benchmarks in Europe, was worth 2.72% around 7:35 a.m. (Eastern time), compared to around 2.5% at the end of last week.
That of US debt with the same maturity reached 4.01% against 3.88% a week ago, before the publication of PCE inflation.
In contrast to the bond market, global stock markets are preparing to end a positive week.
A rise described as “weird” and based on “a few accommodating-sounding comments, despite new statistics that clearly point to further rate hikes”, according to Ipek Ozkardeskaya, analyst at Swissquote Bank.
In Europe, Neil Wilson, an analyst at Finalto “hardly imagines inflation coming back under control without some form of recession”.
Lufthansa comes out of the air hole
German airline giant Lufthansa has announced a return to profit in 2022, driven by a strong recovery in air travel after two years of losses linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its title jumped 6.57% in Frankfurt.
The air sector was pulled up: Easyjet took 4.06% in London, Ryanair 2.25% in Dublin, Air France-KLM 2.58% in Paris, despite a call to reduce flights in France on the 7 and March 8 due to a strike.
Adani bails out
US asset manager GQG Partners has invested $1.9 billion in Indian conglomerate Adani, according to financial news agency Bloomberg. The group is trying to regain investor confidence after accusations of fraud.
The action of Adani Enterprises, flagship of the Gautham Adani conglomerate, climbed 16.97% in Bombay, its fourth consecutive session of gains. Since the beginning of the year, the stock is still down sharply by more than 50%.
Four other shares of the conglomerate gained about 5% and Adani Ports gained 10%.
Commodities and Currencies
Oil prices were retreating around 7:35 a.m. EST. The barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in May lost 0.58%, to 84.26 dollars. The barrel of American West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery in April, yielded 0.40%, to 77.82 dollars.
The dollar retreated after its gains the day before. The euro rose 0.11% against the dollar to 1.0609 dollars for one euro.
Bitcoin fell 4.57% to $22,345 after Silvergate Capital said recent developments in the crypto-asset market could affect its financial strength and hinted at a possible cessation of payments in the coming year.