European stock markets open lower IEX.nl

(ABM FN-Dow Jones) European stock markets will open lower on Thursday, following the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on Wednesday evening.

IG expects an opening loss of 158 points for the German DAX and minus 70 points for the French CAC 40. The British FTSE index looks set to open 73 points lower.

European stock markets closed higher on Wednesday in the run-up to the US interest rate decision.

This week, the Riksbank, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England and the Central Bank of Turkey, among others, will make a decision on the interest rate.

It was announced on Wednesday morning that German producer prices fell by up to 12.6% in August compared to last year. British producer prices fell by 2.3 percent year-on-year in August. In the United Kingdom, annual inflation reached 6.7 percent in August, compared to 6.8 percent the previous month. Expectations for this were 7.0 percent. The core inflation rate fell from 6.9% to 6.2%, versus expectations of 6.8%.

In the United States, weekly oil inventories fell by more than two million barrels. However, the price of oil fell and the price of a barrel of Brent crude was 0.5 percent lower at $93.90. On Tuesday, annual records tightened further above $95 per barrel.

Company news

In Frankfurt, Sartorius, Symrise, Zalando and Porsche were able to add between 2.8 and 4.6 percent, while Rheinmetall lost 1 percent.

In Paris, Unibil Rodamco and Stellantis shares added more than 3 percent. Air Liquide and Thales each lost 1.6 percent.

In Brussels, UCB and Aedifica both ended the day on a positive note with share prices rising by 3.6 and 2.2 percent. On the other hand, AB InBev shares lost 0.7 percent.

In Amsterdam, DSM Firmenich managed to rise by more than 4% and ASMI was forced to retreat again, falling 2.5%.

Euro Stoxx 50 4,275.80 (+0.8%)
STOXX Europe 600 460.90 (+1.0%)
DAX 15,781.59 (+0.8%)
CAC 40 7,330.79 (+0.7%)
FTSE 100 7,731.65 (+0.9%)
SMI 11,154.11 (+0.8%)
EEX 738.32 (+0.5%)
Bill 20 3,711.00 (+0.9%)
FTSE MIB 29,229.30 (+1.6%)
IBEX 35 9,651.50 (+1.3%)

US stocks

Wall Street is set to see a lower open on Thursday.

US stock markets closed lower on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, but is expected to cut rates more slowly in 2024 than expected in June.

As expected, interest rates remained unchanged at 5.25 to 5.50 percent. Market analyst Philippe Marie of Rabobank noted that leaving interest rates unchanged was not surprising. Although the Fed is keeping the door open to raise interest rates again in November, Marey believes it won’t come to that.

During his remarks, Jerome Powell said, among other things, that price pressures have shown some encouraging signs of abating, but the push of inflation to the 2% target is far from over.

He reiterated that restoring price stability is the central bank’s top priority and that failure to do so could have serious consequences for the economy.

Moreover, he still sees a path to a soft landing for the economy.

The Fed became more positive about the economic outlook on Wednesday and now takes into account economic growth of 2.1 percent in 2023. In June, the central bank forecast growth of just 1.0 percent.

The new dot plot also indicates that interest rates will be cut twice in 2024 by 0.25% to 5.1%. In the previous forecast, the Fed assumed four cuts of 0.25 percent. In 2025, the interest rate will not be 3.4%, as expected in June, but 3.9%, according to the plot point.

The yield on ten-year bonds in the United States rose to 4.39 percent.

Furthermore, it was announced on Wednesday in the United States that weekly oil inventories fell by more than 2 million barrels. However, the price of a barrel of WTI closed down one percent after the Federal Reserve indicated that interest rates are expected to fall more slowly than previously expected.

The risers and the fallers

General Mills barely responded to its published quarterly numbers. The company performed slightly better than expected last quarter and confirmed expectations for the full year. The stock was trading almost unchanged at $65.87.

Ford shares lost 1.6 percent after the Canadian union Unifor reached a preliminary agreement with the American automaker, shortly before the new strike deadline expired on Tuesday.

Instacart lost more than 10 percent after the grocery delivery service managed to close 12 percent lower on Tuesday on the day of its IPO.

Intel is having a tough time again and lost 4.6 percent. Yesterday the stock already had to give up 4 percent ground.

Goldman Sachs is in advanced talks with investors about selling its specialist bank GreenSky. US Investment Bank shares lost 1.5 percent.

Steelcase, an office furniture maker, reported that its adjusted annual earnings will be “significantly higher” as it receives more orders regarding the return to the office. The share rose by as much as 19.3 percent.

S&P 500 4,402.20 (-0.9%)
Dow Jones 34,440.88 (-0.2%)
Nasdaq Composite 13,469.13 (-1.5%)

Asia

Asian stock markets fell on Thursday morning.

Nikkei 225 32,619.93 (-1.2%)
Shanghai Composite 3,090.31 (-0.6%)
Hang Seng 17,651.44 (-1.3%)

Currencies

The EUR/USD was trading at 1.0633 this morning. On Wednesday evening, the currency pair was trading at 1.0659.

USD/JPY 148.34 yen
EUR/USD EUR 1.0633
EUR/JPY 157.80

Overall agenda:
06:30 Consumer Confidence – September (Netherlands)
06:30 Investments – July (Netherlands)
06:30 Unemployment – August (Netherlands)
09:30 Riksbank – Interest Rate Decision (Sweden)
09:30 Swiss National Bank – Interest Rate Decision (Zwi)
10:00 Bank of Norway – Interest rate decision (no)
13:00 Central Bank of Turkey – Interest Rate Decision (Phase)
13:00 Bank of England – Interest Rate Decision (UK)
2:30 PM Help Requests – Weekly (US)
14:30 Philadelphia Fed Index – September (US)
4:00 PM Existing Home Sales – August (US)
4:00 PM Leading Indicators – August (US)

Company News:

00:00 Fuhalko – Second quarter numbers
10:00 PM FedEx – Q1 numbers (US)

Source: ABM Financial News