European stocks should benefit from the optimism created by Biden's inauguration 
 
Eurostoxx 50 3,624.04 points +0.80% 
CAC 40 5,628.44 points +0.53% 
DAX 30 13,921.37 points +0.77% 
FTSE 100 6,740.39 points +0.41% 
SMI 10,945.46 points +0.63% 
AEX 659.30 points +1.23% 
BEL 20 3,746.97 points +0.91% 
IBEX 35 8,204.10 points +0.06% 
 
DJIA 31,188.38 points +0.83% 
Nasdaq 13,457.25 points +1.97% 
S&P 500 3,851.85 points +1.39% 
 
Nikkei 225 28,756.86 points +0.82% 
 
Exchange rate at 06:50 
Change from closing in New York 
 
EUR/USD 1.2136 +0.23% 
EUR/JPY 125.48 +0.10% 
USD/JPY 103.39 -0.14% 
 

TO FOLLOW IN FRANCE

Investors will follow thursday the figures of the business climate in January, while the entire French territory is subject to a curfew every day from 18:00.

On the corporate side, Getlink and Seb publish their annual turnover.

Silicon-on-insulator plate maker Soitec on Wednesday confirmed its financial targets for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, after seeing its sales continue to rebound in the third quarter ended late December. The group maintained its forecasts for the entire 2020-2021 financial year, i.e. stable revenue at constant scope and exchange rates and a gross operating surplus (EBITDA) margin "around 30%" in its electronics division.

actions

European equity markets are expected to open higher on Thursday, buoyed by optimism over Joe Biden's arrival in the White House and encouraging corporate results, which allowed Wall Street to close at record levels.

At 7:30 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract gained 22 points, or 0.4%, according to data from broker IG Markets. The contract on the DAX 30 took 48 points, or 0.3%, and the ftse 100 contract gained 30 points, or 0.4%.

"Contained inflation, low interest rates and earnings growth are supporting valuations and providing a basis for equity growth," Terry Sandven, head of equity strategy at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, wrote recently. in a note to its customers.

Despite the optimism, eurozone investors will remain alert to the European Central Bank's (ECB) monetary policy decision, expected at 1:45 p.m. The institution's press release will be followed by a press conference by its president, Christine Lagarde, from 2:30 p.m.

After the increase in December in the amount and duration of the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP), the ECB is expected to opt for the status quo on Thursday. Christine Lagarde's comments on the third wave of Covid-19, the vaccination campaign in Europe, where the Pfizer and BioNTech groups have announced delivery delays leading some countries to threaten them with legal action, and the euro will nevertheless be followed closely.

In the United States, Wall Street broke new records on Wednesday after a new series of corporate results and the swearing-in of Joe Biden, who officially became the 46th president of the United States.

The Dow Jones Index (DJIA) closed up 0.8%, reaching a new high of 31,188 points. The broader S&P 500 index rose 1.4% to 3,851 points. Driven by the surge in Netflix shares, the Nasdaq Composite also surpassed its previous peak by rising 2% to 13,457 points.

The trend has been trending well on Wall Street since the beginning of the week, with investors showing confidence in the ability of companies to weather the pandemic shock through fiscal stimulus.

Stocks accelerated Wednesday after the inauguration ceremony of Joe Biden, who pledged to massively support the economy in the face of the repercussions of the pandemic. In his inaugural address in Washington, the new president also called on Americans to "unity" after the divisions that marked the four years of the Trump presidency. "We need to end this latent civil war between red (Republicans) and blue (Democrats), rural versus urban," Biden said.

Joe Biden last week introduced a $1.9 trillion stimulus package to help Americans overcome the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic and inject more money into testing campaigns and vaccine distribution.

In the wake of Wall Street, Asian stock markets are generally trading in the green on Thursday. The Nikkei index closed up 0.8% and the Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1% at the end of the session. However, after spending most of the session in positive territory, the Hang Seng of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange lost 0.1% in recent trades.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Thursday reiterated its pessimistic growth forecast for the fiscal year ending in March 2021, after the state of emergency declared by the government in many parts of the country. including Tokyo.

The institution also kept the short-term deposit rate at -0.1% and the target for the yield on japanese ten-year government bonds around zero. The central bank also left unchanged its annual target for purchases of listed index funds (ETFs) at 12 trillion yen.

The BOJ's monetary policy committee expects Japan's gross domestic product to contract by 5.6 percent for the current fiscal year, compared to a previous forecast of -5.5 percent. The committee expects growth of 3.9% for the following financial year, which will end in March 2022, against 3.6% previously expected.

Obligations

U.S. Treasury yields are down slightly Thursday morning, as investors focus on the Biden administration's immediate priorities, anticipating strong measures to support the economy. Economists estimate that the yield on the ten-year Treasury bill will reach 1.25% or more this year.

Ian Lyngen, head of U.S. rates strategy at BMO Capital Markets, says the upside potential from the outlook for economic and inflation rebounds has been built in in the first 20 days of the year and it is now difficult to justify the current level of bond yields in the United States.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

The euro is gaining ground against the dollar on Thursday ahead of the ECB's monetary policy decision. The greenback is retreating against all major currencies, with investors focusing on the likelihood that the U.S. Congress will pass a new stimulus package for the U.S. economy, CBA said.

Oil

Oil prices fell slightly on Thursday morning, in response to the latest data from the American Petroleum Institute, which highlighted an unexpected 2.5 million barrel increase in U.S. crude inventories last week.

"Oil prices appear somewhat vulnerable to possible profit-taking after a rise in U.S. crude inventories that is unfavorable to them," said Stephen Innes, head of global market strategy at axi.

The data was released ahead of Friday's release of the Energy Department's official report on oil inventories across the Atlantic. Analysts polled by the Wall Street Journal expect crude inventories to fall by 1.3 million barrels and gasoline reserves to rise by 2.1 million barrels.

At 7:25 a.m., the March contract for North Sea Brent was down 10 cents to $55.98 a barrel, while the same maturity contract for Nymex-traded light crude (WTI) lost 12 cents to $53.19 a barrel.