(Paris) The world stock markets are moving in scattered order on Friday, in a day that promises to be calm – the last of a tumultuous 2023 for the markets, whose players are still waiting for a change in monetary policy of the central banks next year.
The European stock indices opened with a timid rise, before regaining some momentum: around 3:40 a.m., Paris gained 0.38%, Frankfurt gained 0.25%, London was a little less dynamic with a gain of 0.09%.
A timid increase which will perhaps not compensate for the slight declines of the day before, but which will in any case allow the European markets to conclude a prosperous year which will have seen Frankfurt and Paris set records – the French capital even achieving its third best performance in ten years, while Milan remains at its highest level since 2008.
In Asia, the flagship Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange did not shine on Friday (-0.22% to 33,464.17 points). The Japanese Stock Exchange will not reopen until next Thursday, after the traditional New Year break in Japan.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng was also down slightly on Friday around 3:20 a.m. (-0.13%).
If the two main Asian-fourth stock markets declined timidly during this last session of the year, their trajectory diverged significantly in 2023: Tokyo and its Nikkei recorded an increase of 28.2% in 2023, the best annual performance in ten years, thanks to various factors including the fall of the yen and a return to favor with foreign investors, while Hong Kong experienced a fourth year of decline (approximately -14%).
The session promises to be very calm, while yesterday, on Wall Street, the Dow Jones reached a new record, gaining 0.14% to 37,710.10 points. A performance which masks a session without much tone in New York, where the indices were “faced with headwinds from recent data, higher than expected unemployment figures and subdued housing sales”, notes the analyst Stephen Innes (SPI AM).
More generally, the year 2023 was “completely different from what we expected,” explains Ipek Ozkardeskaya, analyst at Swissquote.
The biggest surprise comes from the United States, which Ipek Ozkardeskaya, like many others, “expected to be in recession this year”, and which still posted growth of almost 5% in the third quarter annualized.
So much so that predicting what is in store for 2024 “is the million-euro question”, for the analyst.
No major indicators are expected during the session, apart from inflation in December for certain euro zone countries.
Ten-year US bond rates rose slightly again on Friday, to 3.84%, after having fallen continuously for several weeks.
In France, the ten-year loan rate is stable between Thursday and Friday, at 2.46% (compared to 2.47% the day before).
Oil up slightly
After regaining ground on Thursday against the euro, the dollar stabilized on Friday morning, at one euro against 1.11 dollars, stable at 3:40 a.m.
On the oil market, the price of a barrel of American WTI rose 0.62% compared to the day before, to $77.63 at 3:40 a.m., when its equivalent of Brent from the North Sea also gained 0. 48% to $72.12.
Bitcoin gained 009% again, to $42,510, after falling the day before.