(Paris) Global markets are trending lower on Friday as recession fears regain the upper hand after weaker-than-expected economic indicators in the United States.
European stock exchanges have taken into account a new series of corporate results. Paris fell by 0.20%, London by 0.19%, Frankfurt by 0.47% and Milan by 0.50% around 3:30 a.m. (Eastern time).
In Asia, Tokyo lost 0.33%. Hong Kong was down 1.93% and Shanghai 1.95% in the latest trade.
Sebastian Paris Horvitz, head of research at Banque Postale AM, points to the “mixed character” of the company results published so far, which “hasn’t given much momentum to the market, whereas from the point From an economic point of view, short-term statistics were less buoyant than expected”.
On Thursday, Wall Street ended in the red, weighed down by some disappointments for corporate results, in particular Tesla, and indicators that confirm a slowdown in economic activity.
New weekly jobless claims rose more than expected, manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area fell to its lowest since May 2020, and existing home sales contracted.
“The upward trend in unemployment claims clearly shows a slowdown in the labor market and reinforces the idea of a recession in the United States in 2023,” comments Tapas Strickland of National Australian Bank.
While this finding drove down bond rates, reflecting forecasts of a deterioration in the economy, statements by a member of the US central bank offset this effect.
“I foresee that further tightening may be necessary” in order to reach a level restrictive enough to effectively slow economic activity and ensure that high inflation hits the nail on the head, said the president of the regional office. of the Federal Reserve in Philadelphia, Patrick Harker.
Then, “once we get to that point, which is expected to happen this year, I expect us to keep rates at that level and let monetary policy do its job,” the official added.
If the Fed continues to raise rates, “general financial conditions should continue to tighten, the economy should decelerate into recession, and stocks should fall sharply,” said Chris Senyek of Wolfe Research.
Market traders will take notice on Friday of PMI indices of activity in the manufacturing sector and in services in April for France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the euro zone and the United States.
The French economy recorded “its strongest expansion for almost a year”, according to the PMI index for April published Friday by the agency S
The global optical giant EssilorLuxottica jumped 5.25% in Paris, the day after the publication of a sharp increase in turnover in the first quarter and higher than analysts’ forecasts.
Mercedes-Benz (2.48% in Frankfurt) announced Thursday a slight increase in operating profit during the first quarter thanks to its pricing policy which enabled it to limit the effects of high inflation.
Italian luxury house Salvatore Ferragamo saw its first-quarter sales fall 4%, due to a sharp drop in sales in the United States. Its stock fell 6.76% in Milan.
On its first day of trading in Tokyo, fintech Rakuten Bank’s stock soared nearly 38% to end at 1,930 yen, well above its IPO price of 1,400 yen.
Oil prices continue to fall. By 3:25 a.m. EST, a barrel of North Sea Brent crude for June delivery was down 0.48% to $80.71.
Its American equivalent, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery in June, which is the first day of use as a benchmark contract, dropped 0.61%, to 76,941 dollars.
The dollar and the yen were strengthening against most other currencies. Around 3:25 a.m. (Eastern time), the euro lost 0.20% against the dollar at 1.0948 dollars for one euro. The yen gained 0.42% against the euro and 0.20% against the dollar and traded at 133.94 yen per dollar.
Bitcoin was down 1.02% at $27,915.
