(Paris) World stock markets rose on Friday, delighted to see the risk of default in the United States receding, with the Frankfurt and Tokyo stock exchanges even signing new records.
The German benchmark Dax index (+0.83% around 9:45 a.m. Eastern time) reached 16,304.72 points and thus exceeded its previous record which dated from November 2021.
It took advantage of the fall in natural gas prices, whose benchmark contract for Europe has lost 60% since the start of the year, to fall back to around 30 euros per megawatt hour, which has helped to dispel fears of recession in Europe.
The slowdown in inflation in Europe and the United States and the prospect of slower rate hikes by central banks have also supported stock market indices since the start of the year.
Elsewhere in Europe, Paris took 0.89%, London 0.50% and Milan 1.44%.
In Tokyo too, the Nikkei index reached a new closing high since the summer of 1990, at 30,808.35 points, after a seventh consecutive rising session (+0.77%).
On Wall Street, the NASDAQ (+0.31%) and the S&P 500 (+0.28%) rose further after hitting their highest closing level in nearly nine months on Thursday. The Dow Jones also rose 0.16%.
The risk that the United States will find itself in default if no agreement is reached in Congress to raise the country’s debt ceiling has made investors nervous for several weeks. But the more the negotiations progress, the more everyone seems to think that an agreement will see the light of day sooner or later.
“The US debt ceiling talks are going to lead to something…which has definitely helped boost morale,” said Finalto analyst Neil Wilson.
Democratic US President Joe Biden and Republican House of Representatives boss Kevin McCarthy have reported progress in the negotiations and are confident of reaching an agreement.
Several Fed officials will speak on Friday at a monetary policy conference hosted by the US central bank. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is also due to speak after the close of European markets.
Bond yields rose sharply during the week, with investors no longer completely ruling out a further hike in key rates by the US Central Bank in June with the latest statements from officials and still solid economic data, particularly on the US market. job. The American rate for the 10-year loan exceeds 3.70%, the German rate reaches 2.50% and the French rate 3.07%.
Semiconductors lead the race
The British government on Friday unveiled a strategy in semiconductors, planning a billion pounds sterling (more than 1.6 billion Canadian dollars) of investment in the decade.
The values of semiconductors benefited everywhere in Europe: STMicroelectronics took 1.37% and Soitec 3.50% in Paris. Infineon gained 0.49% in Frankfurt and ASML 0.58% in Amsterdam.
Alibaba disappoints
Disappointing results from e-commerce titan Alibaba have heightened concerns about Chinese consumer demand. The stock fell 6.04% in Hong Kong and its US stock lost 1.40% in early trading.
On the side of currencies and oil
Crude prices move higher around 9:30 a.m. EST. North Sea Brent for July delivery rose 1.20% to $76.77 and US WTI rose 1.06% to $72.62.
The yen took 0.65% to 138.62 yen per dollar, after the publication of an increase in inflation in Japan, which could push the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to act.
The euro for its part gleaned 0.23% to 1.0795 dollars but fell sharply over the whole week.
Bitcoin gained 0.75% to $26,925.