European equity markets are expected to fall in a tense geopolitical context. The Eurostoxx 50 opens at 4,137.22 points (-0.16%), the CAC 40 at 6,964.98 points (-0.21%), the DAX 40 at 15,370.30 points (-0.28% ), the FTSE 100 at 7,603.78 points (-0.07%), the SMI at 12,191.57 points (+0.08%), the AEX at 758.92 points (+0.49%), the BEL 20 at 4,106.15 points (+0.95%), IBEX 35 at 8,737.20 points (+0.22%), DJIA at 34,934.27 points (-0.16%), Nasdaq at 14,124.09 points (-0.11%), the S&P 500 at 4,475.01 points (+0.09%) and the Nikkei 225 at 27,232.87 points (-0.83%).

With regard to exchange rates, the variation compared to the closing in New York, EUR/USD at 1.1358 (-0.15%), EUR/JPY at 130.88 (-0, 34%) and USD/JPY at 115.24 (-0.19%).

Groupe ADP presents its new strategic plan. On Wednesday evening, the operator of the Paris airports indicated that it wanted to return to net profit in 2022 in a context of a gradual resumption of travel, and unveiled a roadmap which should allow it to regain its level of financial performance before the crisis. by 2025. The group also plans to return to dividends from 2023, with a payment of at least 1 euro per share in 2023 and at least 3 euros in 2024 and 2025.

Carrefour published better-than-expected results in 2021 and announced a new €750 million share buyback program for the current financial year, as well as new savings efforts to mitigate the impact of inflation .

European equity markets are expected to open lower on Thursday as investors continue to monitor tensions between Russia and Ukraine and the US Federal Reserve (Fed) has signaled plans to hike rates on an accelerated basis if the Inflation was not slowing down, but without setting targets. At 7:40 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract lost 38 points, or 0.6%, according to data from broker IG Markets. The contract on the DAX 40 yielded 111 points, or 0.7%, and that on the FTSE 100 gave up 24 points, or 0.3%.

In the United States, the Fed mentioned at its last meeting the possibility of raising its rates more rapidly if inflation showed no signs of slowing down in the coming months. It is possible that inflation will continue to rise in the coming months, even if the rise in prices should slow during the course of the year, also estimated the American central bankers, while consumer prices in the United States rose 7.5% year on year in January, recording their strongest rise in 40 years. During the last cycle of monetary tightening, between 2015 and 2018, the Fed opted for a gradual approach without ever raising its key rates more than once a quarter.

The central bank now seems determined to raise the cost of money at each of its next meetings, which take place every six weeks, reviving a method last used in 2006. Rate hikes could therefore come in March , in May and June. Wall Street was little changed on Wednesday after the publication of the minutes of the Fed and that of economic indicators well oriented across the Atlantic, investors remaining concerned about the Ukrainian crisis. The Dow Jones Index (DJIA) fell 0.2% to 34,934.27 points, while the broader S&P 500 index gained 0.1% to 4,475.01 points. The Nasdaq Composite ended down 0.1% to 14,124.09 points. In Asia, the markets are moving in dispersed order on Thursday. The Nikkei index closed down 0.8% in Tokyo. At the end of the session, the Hang Seng index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange dropped 0.3%, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.1%.

The euro retreated Thursday morning against the dollar, the Ukrainian crisis reinforcing the attractiveness of the greenback as a safe haven.

Oil prices fell on Thursday, due to a wave of optimism surrounding the Iranian nuclear negotiations. At 7:30 a.m., the April contract on Brent North Sea oil lost $1.39, or 1.5%, to $93.42 a barrel. The Nymex-listed light sweet crude (WTI) March contract fell $1.39, or 1.5%, to $92.27 a barrel.