As investors review the latest news about tariffs, President Donald Trump's speech to Congress, and China's 2025 economic goals, European stock markets are expected to open sharply higher on Wednesday.

The manufacturer of cryogenic membranes for the transport of liquefied natural gas GTT announced Tuesday evening that it had won an order from an Asian shipyard concerning the design of the tanks of two LNG carriers on behalf of an Asian shipowner.

The aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation, the IT services group Atos and the reinsurer Scor published their results for 2024 on Wednesday.

Around 7:40 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract grew by 2.1%, according to data from broker IG.

Supported by the hope of an appeasement in trade between the United States and its main partners, European European equity markets could recover when they open up. At around 7:40 a.m., the DAX 40 futures contract in Frankfurt gained 2%, while the FTSE 100 futures contract won 0.8, according to data from broker IG

President Donald Trump presented to Congress on Tuesday evening, during his speech, a remorseless assessment of his decisions to crack down on illegal immigration, to reduce federal government staff and to impose new taxes on imports.
Before Donald Trump's speech, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick indicated that a compromise on tariffs could be in the works with Canada and Mexico

The New York Stock Exchange closed sharply on Tuesday, penalized by concerns about the possible impact of the new tariffs on economic growth and business profitability. The Dow Jones (DJIA) fell by 1.6% to 42,520.99 points. The flagship Wall Street index was weighed down by industrial stocks exposed to the consequences of the trade war (Boeing -6.6%, 3M -4.9%), as well as by the banking sector (Goldman Sachs -4%, JPMorgan -4%). The expanded S&P 500 index also lost 1.2% to 5,778.15 points. The Nasdaq Composite, rich in technology stocks, moved away from its morning lows to end down 0.4% to 18,285.16 points.
In Asia, the Nikkei index on the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended Wednesday's session up 0.2%. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.5% at the end of the session, while the Hang Seng rose by 2.4% on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange

China has set an economic growth target of around 5% for 2025, unchanged from last year, despite growing challenges from trade tensions, weak domestic demand, and a prolonged downturn in real estate sector.

The target, announced on Wednesday by Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang, comes after China said it had reached its growth target for 2024, with a gross domestic product expanding by 5%.

Beijing also raised its budget deficit target for 2025 to 4% of GDP from 3% last year and announced an inflation target of around 2%.

The 10-year US Treasury bond rate lost about 1 basis point, to 4.24%, at around 7:40am. That of the two-year title was almost unchanged, at 3.97%. New York Fed President John Williams has indicated that he does not want to cut rates in March in order to continue the fight against inflation.

The greenback lost 0.1% against the Japanese currency, at 149.71 yen, around 7:40 a.m., the euro was stable at 1.0625 dollars.

The April contract for soft light crude (WTI) listed on Nymex lost 51 cents, or 0.8%, to $67.75 per barrel, at around 7:40am. The May North Sea Brent contract listed in London sold 18 cents, or 0.3%, to $70.86