European stocks should change little while awaiting Biden's inauguration 
 
Eurostoxx 50 3,595.42 points -0.20% 
CAC 40 5,598.61 points -0.33% 
DAX 30 13,815.06 points -0.24% 
FTSE 100 6,712.95 points -0.11% 
SMI 10,876.98 points -0.11% 
AEX 651.28 points +0.15% 
BEL 20 3,713.33 points -0.85% 
IBEX 35 8,199.00 points -0.67% 
 
DJIA 30,930.52 points +0.38% 
Nasdaq 13,197.18 points +1.53% 
S&P 500 3,798.91 points +0.81% 
 
Nikkei 225 28,523.26 points -0.38% 
 
Exchange rate at 06:50 
Change from the close in New York 
 
EUR/USD 1.2143 +0.10% 
EUR/JPY 125.99 -0.04% 
USD/JPY 103.76 -0.14% 
 
   

TO FOLLOW IN FRANCE

Soitec publishes its third quarter turnover on Wednesday.

Fnac Darty announced on Wednesday evening that it expects slight growth in its revenue and current operating profit for 2021 compared to 2020 and published a reassuring estimate of its sales for the past financial year, driven by strong momentum in the fourth quarter and solid growth in online sales. Referring to a "still uncertain context", the distribution group indicated that it anticipates "a first half still disrupted by the health crisis and a second half marked by more normalized operating conditions".

The Virbac veterinary laboratory achieved a turnover of 934.2 million euros in 2020, up 5.7% at constant exchange rates and perimeter. According to FactSet, analysts were expecting an average annual turnover of 931.1 million euros. As the group had anticipated, the ratio of "current operating income before amortization of assets resulting from acquisitions on turnover" should be around 14% at constant exchange rates and at actual scope in 2020.

For 2021, Virbac anticipates growth in its turnover at constant exchange rates and scope of between 3% and 5% - i.e. between 0% and 2% at constant rates and real scope - as well as a "profit current operating before amortization of assets resulting from acquisitions" on turnover which should be between 10% and 12% at constant exchange rates.

SHARES

European equity markets are expected to change little on Wednesday at the start of the session, while investors await the inauguration of Joe Biden as President of the United States.

At 7:25 am, the futures contract on the CAC 40 yielded 9 points, or 0.2%, according to data from the broker IG Markets. The contract on the DAX 30 lost 5.5 points, or 0.04%, and that on the FTSE 100 gained 22 points, or 0.3%.

"Markets appear to have been in a consolidation phase for about a week," said Craig Erlam of OANDA. “With the arrival of the new Biden administration and its willingness to get to work, it is possible that the markets are simply in a waiting phase,” he adds.

During an intervention before the United States Senate, which must confirm her appointment as Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen pleaded in favor of a vast public spending policy to revive the American economy. Addressing the challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, she said, is the top priority of the new Biden administration, including providing relief to families, businesses and communities hardest hit by the economic downturn and dedicating funds to help fight the coronavirus pandemic. against the virus.

In this context, Wall Street ended up on Tuesday, also supported by the publication of further good results in the banking sector. The Dow Jones Index (DJIA) ended with a gain of 0.4% to 30,930 points. The broader S&P 500 index rose 0.8% to 3,798 points. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.5% to 13,197 points.

In Italy, the President of the Council, Giuseppe Conte, won a vote of confidence in the Senate without obtaining an absolute majority, which weakens his government which is seeking a way to stem the Covid-19 pandemic and revive the economy. . The vote was triggered by the decision of the centrist party led by former Council President Matteo Renzi to withdraw from the government coalition.

Giuseppe Conte obtained 156 votes in favor of his left-wing government and 140 against. Matteo Renzi's party abstained. Having failed to obtain an absolute majority in the Italian Senate, which has 321 seats, Giuseppe Conte could face difficulties in the future to pass laws.

"We will have a weak government precisely when we need a very strong government," said Valentina Meliciani, professor of economics at LUISS University in Rome.

In Asia, equity markets evolved in a mixed way on Wednesday, with concerns about the coronavirus offsetting the optimism generated by the inauguration of Joe Biden. The Nikkei index closed down 0.4%. On the other hand, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index gained 0.7% and the flagship index of the Shanghai Stock Exchange advanced 0.3% at the end of the session.

OBLIGATIONS

Yields on US Treasury bonds fell on Tuesday as investors followed Janet Yellen's Senate hearing, which featured calls for increased government spending to revive the economy.

The yield on the ten-year Treasury note fell 0.5 basis points to 1.092%, and that of the two-year note lost 0.6 basis points to 0.131%. The yield on the 30-year bond fell 1.3 basis points to 1.839%.

CHANGES

The dollar continued its decline on Wednesday against other major currencies, including the euro, penalized by the likelihood of additional stimulus measures in the United States.

According to Bank of America, the US election results "may have enhanced the dollar's near-term downside potential", but the majority achieved by Democrats in both houses of Congress "sowed the seeds for stabilization and of a possible upward movement during the course of the year", when an economic recovery will come to support the currency.

For its part, ING anticipates a rise in the euro to 1.30 dollars this year. Further fiscal stimulus and a “non-responsive” Federal Reserve (Fed) should make short-term, inflation-adjusted US Treasury bond yields “even more negative” and “naturally weigh” on the dollar, Dutch bank analysts say.

The global economic recovery expected from the second quarter should benefit currencies sensitive to the evolution of the economy against the dollar, analysts point out. While the US economy should do better than that of the euro zone this year, the euro should appreciate against the dollar throughout the year.

OIL

Oil prices rose on Wednesday morning, buoyed by hopes of fiscal stimulus in the United States. However, concerns about the strength of near-term demand remain as the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt the tourism and travel sector, warns ANZ.

At 7:15 a.m., the March contract on Brent North Sea crude was up 34 cents, at 56.24 dollars a barrel, while that of the same expiry on light sweet crude oil (WTI) listed on Nymex gained 36 cents, at 53 $.34 a barrel.