(Photo: Getty Images)
–
MARKET REVIEW. Global markets stalled on Thursday before the release of US inflation figures for January, crucial data for the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.
After Wednesday’s session driven by good corporate results, the New York Stock Exchange was heading for an opening without much trend.
In Asia, stock markets rose slightly.
Stock indices at 8:02 a.m.
In the United States, futures contracts Dow Jones collected 69.00 points (+0.19%) at 35,710.00 points. The futures contracts S&P 500 fell by 1.25 points (-0.03%) to 4,576.50 points. The futures contracts Nasdaq fell by 15.50 points (-0.10%) to 15,022.75 points.
In Europe, the results were mixed. In London, the FTSE 100 collected 8.69 points (+0.11%) at 7,652.11 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 fell by 0.79 points (-0.01%) to 7,130.09 points. In Frankfurt, the DAX posted an increase of 80.46 points (+0.52%) to 15,562.47 points.
In Asia, the Nikkei Tokyo rose 116.21 points (+0.42%) to 27,696.08 points. For his part, the Hang Seng of Hong Kong collected 94.36 points (+0.38%) to 24,924.35 points.
On the oil side, the price per barrel of WTI American was up US$0.74 (+0.83%) at US$90.40. The barrel of Brent de la mer du Nord rose US$0.59 (+0.64%) to US$92.14.
The context
The day’s session is suspended until the publication of inflation figures for January in the United States, which could reach 7.3% over one year, according to analysts’ expectations.
Central banks are in turn announcing a tightening of their monetary policy to counter rising prices, which reached 7% in 2021 in the United States.
Faced with this figure, the Federal Reserve has already begun to reduce its monetary support, put in place at the time of the health crisis to support the markets and which enabled them to make strong progress last year.
A first hike in the US central bank’s key rates should take place in March and the market is now expecting five hikes during 2022.
Thursday’s inflation data “could help us know whether the FOMC (the Fed’s monetary policy committee) will decide to implement a 50 basis point hike in March or just 25 basis points” of its main policy rate, says Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson.
In Europe, the European Central Bank has not yet indicated the horizon for raising its key rate, but the pressures are growing. Price growth was 5% in 2021, well above its 2% target.
The European Commission on Thursday revised its inflation forecast for the euro zone for 2022 upwards, to 3.5%, and its forecast for economic growth downwards, to 4%.
Investors are also digesting a new wave of corporate results.
Markets had been expecting yet another loss, but the chauffeur-driven car rental (VTC) giant posted a net profit of 892 million US dollars in the fourth quarter, a sign that profitability is no longer a pipe dream. The action Uber took about 6% in pre-market electronic trading.
The global cosmetics giant had a “historic” year 2021 with a net profit of 4.6 billion euros, but “the market expected higher margins”, explains Daniel Larrouturou, equity manager at Dôm Finance. The title lost 1.41% and in its wake French luxury declined, in particular Hermes (-2.55%) and LVMH (-1,21%).
Delivery Hero fell by 25.5%. The meal delivery company is disappointing with an adjusted operating margin (EBITDA) at -2.2%, despite a 62% increase in its turnover in 2021, according to a press release published Thursday.
Oil prices advanced a day after weekly U.S. reserves data came out lower than expected, with investors still monitoring Iran’s nuclear talks.
The euro was stable (+0.06%) against the greenback (at US$1.1432).
the bitcoin gleaned 0.85% to US$44,860.
–
