Global stock markets calm before central banks

(Paris) Global markets advanced slightly on Monday, at the start of a busy week, with several central bank meetings on the investor program.






Wall Street was poised to open higher according to pre-session trading, with gains of 0.4% for the NASDAQ, and a Dow Jones just above equilibrium around 7:40 a.m.

At the same time, in Europe, Frankfurt led the way (+ 0.91%) followed by Milan (+ 0.48%), Paris (+ 0.07%) and London (-0.18%) remaining more in withdrawal.

Asia finished higher overall, with an advance of 0.71% in Tokyo.

Investors are patiently awaiting the start of central bank meetings this week, with several positions taken to fight inflation.

It reached 6.8% in November in the United States, unprecedented in 40 years, and 4.9% in the euro zone over the same month, the highest in 30 years.

Central banks around the world are therefore under pressure and the US Federal Reserve, which presents its conclusions on Wednesday, has already planned to withdraw the adjective “provisional” to describe inflation.

“The Fed will follow up on its restrictive rhetoric and accelerate the reduction” of its asset repurchases on the markets, anticipates Neil Wilson of Markets.com, who is also awaiting indications on the timetable for raising key rates.

Thursday, it will be the turn of the European Central Bank to make its conclusions and present how it will reduce its support measures, at the end of the Governing Council.

For more accommodating economic policies, investors are looking instead to China. “After lowering the reserve requirement ratio of banks last week, the world’s second-largest economy could announce new budgetary support to support growth,” writes Vincent Boy, of IG France.

The authorities must in particular manage the upheavals of its over-indebted real estate groups, such as Evergrande.

British airline is running out of air

Airlines on the London Stock Exchange were moving in negative territory, as British companies on Monday asked Prime Minister Boris Johnson for “economic support measures”. The industry is currently facing new restrictions placed on entering the country in the face of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

IAG, parent company of British Airways and Iberia, fell 3.73% to 132 pence and Easyjet 3.54% to 507 pence.

Aéroports de Paris lost 1.37% to 104.60 euros on the extended French index, and Air France 1.50% to 3.89 euros.

Earlier, China Airlines plunged 6%.

Mining on the rise

The rise in commodities with the appeasement of fears about the Omicron variant among investors was particularly beneficial to mining.

In Paris, ArcelorMittal was on the podium of the flagship CAC 40 index with an increase of 2.35% to 2,634 euros. In London, Rio Tinto took 1.30% to 4,816 pence, Antofagasta 1.35% to 1,389 pence.

On the oil, euro and bitcoin side

Oil prices were running out of steam on Monday, as OPEC highlighted the “uncertainty” the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose in the market and as Iranian nuclear negotiations continue in Vienna, Austria.

Around 7:30 a.m. the price of a US barrel of WTI for January delivery fell 0.71% to 71.14 dollars and that of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for February delivery lost 0.83% to 74.53 dollars.

One euro was trading for 1.1285 dollars (-0.26%).

Bitcoin dropped part of its weekend gains (-2.10% to $ 48,911).


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