European stock markets are expected to open lower on Wednesday as investors review the Trump administration's latest trade policy announcements and learn about a series of corporate results.

The animal health specialist Virbac for its part reported an 8.5% increase in its turnover in the first quarter, to 375 million euros, following the acquisition of the Japanese company Sasaeah last year. At constant exchange rates and scope, organic growth was 4.9%, supported by dynamic activity in Europe.

The pharmaceutical laboratory Ipsen confirmed its objectives for fiscal year 2025, after publishing sales that exceeded analysts' expectations in the first quarter.

After the market closes, Emeis will publish its annual results, Ipsos will present its first quarter results and Groupe ADP will announce its traffic figures in March.
The construction and concessions group Vinci announced that passenger traffic at its airports grew by 6% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year.

Employee benefits specialist Edenred confirmed its profitability objective for 2025 on Wednesday, after publishing increased sales in the first quarter.
On Tuesday evening, FDJ United reported sales up 30% in the first quarter, driven by the acquisition of the Swedish gaming operator Kindred and lottery revenues in France

Around 7:40 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract lost 1.2%, according to data from broker IG.

In the wake of Asian stock markets, European equity markets are expected to weaken at the open, while the subject of American tariffs remains at the top of the agenda. According to data from the broker IG, the DAX 40 futures contract in Frankfurt dropped 1.1%, while the FTSE 100 futures contract in London fell

Due to United States restrictions on chip exports to China, processor designer Nvidia announced Tuesday evening that it would record a charge of up to $5.5 billion for the quarter ending on April 27.

The group explained in a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, that the US government now requires an export license for the sale of its H20 chips to China, and that this rule would remain in place for the foreseeable future.

Despite new quarterly results that were welcomed in the banking sector, the New York Stock Exchange closed slightly lower on Tuesday. Investors remained cautious in the absence of major new developments on the tariff front

After an opening in the green, the Dow Jones (DJIA) finally lost 0.4% on Tuesday, to 40,368.96 points, and the S&P 500 lost 0.2%, to 5,396.63 points. The Nasdaq Composite, rich in technology stocks, closed down less than 0.1% to 16,823.17 points

The announcement of a still deteriorating business climate in the New York region has reinforced the caution of investors. The Empire State manufacturing index published by the Fed's regional branch remained in negative territory in April, at -8.1, while recovering from March

In Asia, the Nikkei index on the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 1.6% on Wednesday at the end of trading. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.7%, while the Hang Seng on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange fell by 2.7%.

The two-year stock rate fell 5 basis points to 3.81%. At around 7:40am, the 10-year US Treasury bond rate lost 1 basis point, to 4.33%.

The greenback lost 0.6% against the Japanese currency, at 142.33 yen. Around 7:40 a.m., the euro gained 0.6% to 1.1353 dollars.

The May contract for soft light crude (WTI) listed on Nymex lost 77 cents, or 1.3%, to $60.56 per barrel. At around 7:40am, the June North Sea Brent contract listed in London sold 82 cents, or 1.3%, to $63.85