At the opening, European equity markets are expected to change little. The Eurostoxx 50 opens at 4,361.32 points (+0.21%), the CAC 40 at 7,277.93 points (+0.24%), the DAX 40 at 15,994.73 points (+0.23%), the FTSE 100 at 7,483.58 points (+0.19%), the SMI at 10,851.62 points (+0.18%), the AEX at 762.32 points (+0.30%)), the BEL 20 at 3,570.10 points (+0.68%), the IBEX 35 at 9,905.50 points (+0.18%), the DJIA at 35,273.03 points (+0.53%) (end of November 22), the Nasdaq at 14,265.86 points (+0.46%) (close of November 22), the S&P 500 at 4. 556.62 points (+0.41%) (end of November 22), and the Nikkei 225 at 33,625.53

With regard to exchange rates, the change compared to the close indicates that in New York, the EUR/USD was at 1.0908 (+0.00%), the EUR/JPY at 162.80 (-0.21%), and the USD/JPY at 149.26 (-0.21%).

Yesterday evening, construction materials protector Saint-Gobain announced the establishment of a new governance starting in June 2024. This governance will consist in particular of the combination of the functions of President and Director General. At the end of the general meeting on 6 June 2024, Benoit Bazin, the current CEO, will become CEO and will take over the functions of Pierre-André de Chalendar, whose departure as president was expected. No major economic indicators are due to be published in France on Friday.

This morning, European stock index futures were almost stable, in poorly nourished exchanges given the closure of the American markets for Thanksgiving on Thursday. According to data from the broker IG, the DAX 40 contract lost 2.3 points and the FTSE 100 contract dropped 21.6 points, or 0.3%. The CAC 40 futures contract lost 3.9 points, or 0.1%, at 7:25 a.m. On Friday, attention will be focused on Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter and on the country's IFO business climate index for November.

Exchanges will be limited to Friday in the United States. The stock markets will close at 19:00 (French time) for the Thanksgiving weekend and the bond markets will close one hour later. The main Asian markets posted mixed performances on Friday. The Tokyo Stock Exchange's Nikkei index ended up 0.5%. The Hang Seng Index fell 1.8% at the end of the session in Hong Kong, while the Shanghai Composite lost 0.8%.

U.S. Treasury yields rose this morning. As a result of the transition to a period of higher rates, global bond markets have revalued significantly over the past two years and are now at levels close to fair value according to Vanguard. The latter said that investors are demanding to hold bonds with long rather than short maturity have also increased, due to high inflation and uncertainty about the fiscal and monetary outlook. The company said that “despite the risk of short-term volatility, we believe that this increase in interest rates represents the best economic and financial development for long-term investors in 20 years.” The 2-year US Treasury rate also increased 5 basis points, to 4.942%, and the 10-year US Treasury rate rose 5 basis points, to 4.464%, around 7:10 a.m.

Like the greenback, the euro was stable this morning against the dollar, but was losing ground against the yen. According to Matt Simpson, an analyst at City Index, market volatility is low due to the Thanksgiving holidays in the United States, resulting in tight fluctuation margins and low trade volumes. According to him, if the dollar maintains its seasonal trend, it is more likely to appreciate during the two sessions following Thanksgiving

This morning, oil futures are evolving in a mixed manner. Investors remain in uncertainty after the decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies to postpone a highly anticipated meeting until 30 November. According to Citi analysts, Saudi Arabia should continue its voluntary reduction of 1 million barrels per day in the first quarter of 2024 and the other members should generally maintain existing quotas until 2024. For its analysts, “the probability of the meeting ending on an unfavorable note seems to have increased given the postponement of the meeting and possible wider disagreements.”
The January contract for mild crude oil (WTI) listed on Nymex sold 64 cents, at $76.46 per barrel, while the similarly mature North Sea Brent contract gave up 3 cents, to $81.39 per barrel, around 7:10 a.m.