At the opening, European equity markets are expected to rise slightly. The Eurostoxx 50 opens at 4,238.38 points (-0.23%), the CAC 40 at 7,267.93 points (-0.38%), the DAX 40 at 15,365.14 points (-0.11%), the FTSE 100 at 7,876.28 points (-0.74%), the SMI at 11,098.35 points (-1.08%), the AEX at 752.93 points (-0,74%), the SMI at 11,098.35 points (-1.08%), the AEX at 752.93 points (-0,74%) .54%), the BEL 20 at 3,902.21 points (-0.16%), the IBEX 35 at 9,394.60 points (+0.86%), the DJIA at 32,656.70 points (-0.71%), the Nasdaq at 11,455.54 points (-0.10%), the S&P 500 at 3,970.15 points (-0.30%), and the Nikkei 225 at 27.51% 16,53 points (+0.26%).

In terms of exchange rates, the change from the close mentions that in New York, EUR/USD is at 1,0594 (+0.15%), EUR/JPY at 144.46 (+0.25%), and USD/JPY at 136.37 (+0.10%).

Yesterday evening, the European stock exchange operator Euronext announced that it had withdrawn its indicative offer to acquire 100% of the capital of the Allfunds Group fund distribution platform. For its part, the digital services company Atos announced on Tuesday that it had reduced its losses in 2022 and reported “significant progress” in its planned spin-off.

According to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares in his statement on Tuesday, the automaker wanted to grow its Ram Trucks utility brand globally by strengthening its presence in markets far from its North American base. InterParfums, Eurofins and Neoen are publishing their annual results today.

Investors fear inflation will remain high in developed countries, while European equity markets are expected to open higher on Wednesday but cautiously. Data from the IG broker mentions that the CAC 40 futures contract gained 8.6 points, or 0.1% around 7:30am. The FTSE 100 contract rose by 22.5 points, or 0.3%, and the DAX 40 contract increased by 25 points, or 0.2%.

Investors are now focusing their attention on the publication of manufacturing PMI indicators in the eurozone and its member countries, as well as inflation figures in Germany and the ISM manufacturing sector indicator in the United States. Yesterday, the New York Stock Exchange ended in the red for the last session of February. Investors remained cautious due to uncertainty about the evolution of Federal Reserve (Fed) policy.

Over the whole month of February, the S&P 500 lost 2.6%, while the DJIA lost 4.2%. Technology stocks again outperformed the market, with the Nasdaq Composite limiting its fall to 1.1%. According to Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Asset Management, “it became clearer in February that the US economy was not responding sufficiently to rising interest rates.”

Major Asian indices rose on Wednesday, after the release of good PMI indicators in China. The Hang Seng on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange gained 3.1% at the end of the trading session and the Nikkei Index closed 0.3% higher in Tokyo. At the same time, the Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.7%.

As signs of persistent inflation in Europe reinforce fears that central banks will continue to tighten monetary policy, US Treasury bond yields rose on Wednesday. Peter Cardillo of Spartan says economic indicators and the rhetoric of Federal Reserve officials should continue to influence the government bond market, but yields may have peaked. According to him, “on a technical level, this is the second time in the past week that there has been a fall from their high points.” The 2-year US Treasury rate rose slightly to 4.824%, while the 10-year bond rate gained 2 basis points to 3.941% around 7:30am.

The dollar gained some ground against the Japanese currency and the euro appreciated against the dollar and the yen on Wednesday. According to Silicon Valley Bank, the higher-than-expected consumer price figures announced Tuesday in France and Spain support the hypothesis that inflation in the eurozone will remain high for longer than expected and “a 50 basis point rate hike by the European Central Bank in March is almost a given.”

After losing ground at the start of trading, oil futures rose this morning. According to OCBC analysts, “while important economic indicators are being released in China this week, the expectation of a strong recovery in the Chinese economy is supporting rising prices, despite concerns about the economic consequences of raising interest rates in the United States.” Operators will closely monitor the evolution of Russian exports of oil and refined products by sea according to CBA.

April's Nymex-listed light crude (WTI) contract earned 49 cents at $77.54 per barrel, while the May North Sea Brent contract rose 51 cents to $83.96 per barrel around 7:30am.