Fearing stagflation, European equity markets are expected to continue their decline. The Eurostoxx 50 opened at 3,690.74 points (-1.36%), the CAC 40 at 6,352.94 points (-1.20%), the DAX 40 at 14,007.76 points (-1.26%), the FTSE 100 at  7,438.09 points (-1.07%), the SMI at 11,579.14 points (-1.29%), the AEX at 693.03 points (-1.36%), the BEL 20 at 3,967.23 points (-1.13%), the IBEX 35 at 8,476.40 points (+0.01%) and the Nikkei 225 at 26,440.03 points (-1.75%).
On the exchange rate side, the change from the close in New York indicates that EUR/USD opens at 1.0503 (+0.36%), EUR/JPY at 135.35 (+0.90%) and USD/JPY at 126.87   (+0.49%).
Societe Generale announced on Wednesday evening that it had completed the sale of Rosbank and its insurance subsidiaries in Russia to Interros Capital, a transaction that will result in an impact of nearly 7 basis points on its CET1 solvency ratio. In accordance with the information disclosed in April, the bank will pass an accounting loss of approximately €3.2 billion in its second-quarter results as a result of this divestment. At the end of March, the group's CET 1 ratio stood at 12.9%, about 370 basis points above the regulatory requirement.
European equity markets are expected to continue their decline on Thursday morning, penalized by fears of stagflation that caused U.S. stock markets to fall on Wednesday night. At 7:40 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract lost 55 points, or 0.9%, according to data from broker IG Markets. The contract on the DAX 40 gave up 130 points, or 0.9%, and the ftse 100 contract gave up 54 points, or 0.7%. Wall Street ended sharply lower on Wednesday, as rising costs linked to high inflation in the United States threaten the profitability of companies, especially in the distribution sector.
Marking its biggest decline since June 2020, the Dow Jones Index (DJIA) fell 3.6% to 31,490.07 points. The broader S&P 500 index also had its worst session since the beginning of the health crisis to finish on a decline of 4%, to 3,923.68 points. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite fell 4.7% to 11,418.15 points.
Asian stock markets also fell on Thursday morning. At the end of the session, the Nikkei index lost 1.8% in Tokyo. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 2.4 percent and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.1 percent
U.S. Treasury yields fell on Wednesday as investors worried about signs that inflation is weighing on corporate earnings and reassessing the Fed chairman's restrictive remarks on Tuesday. Jerome Powell.
Wells Fargo Investment Institute says its baseline scenario for the U.S. economy is based on a "slight" contraction. "The economy could weather a shock related to inflation or monetary policy, but the rapid convergence of multiple shocks has reached a point that leads us to forecast a contraction in the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States for a few quarters, from the end of this year until the second quarter of 2023," says the bank.
The euro rose Thursday morning against the greenback but remained below the $1.05 mark. The decline of the dollar on Thursday against other major currencies can be explained by technical elements after its recent rise. According to MUFG Bank, fears of stagflation should remain predominant in the markets and continue to support the greenback.
Oil contracts are advancing on Thursday morning, likely operating a technical rebound after the recent sell-off. Crude oil prices fell on Wednesday, in the wake of the stock market debacle, despite data indicating an unexpected decline in inventories in the United States and a significant decline in gasoline reserves. At 7:30 a.m., the July Contract for North Sea Brent was gaining $1.26 to $110.37 a barrel. June's june crude on Nymex-listed light sweet crude (WTI) was up 59 cents to $110.18 a barrel.