European equities are expected to open sharply lower, weighed down by the restrictive tone of Fed minutes. The Eurostoxx 50 opens at 4,392.15 points (+0.56%), the CAC 40 at 7,376.37 points (+0.81%), the DAX 40 at 16,271.75 points (+0.74% ), the FTSE 100 at 7,516.87 points (+0.16%), the SMI at 12,906.37 points (+0.04%), the AEX at 800.75 points (-0.44%), the BEL 20 at 4,344.62 points (-0.40%), IBEX 35 at 8,790.80 points (-0.06%), DJIA at 36,407.11 points (-1.07%), Nasdaq at 15,100.17 points (-3.34%), the S&P 500 at 4,700.58 points (-1.94%) and the Nikkei 225 at 28,487.87 points (-2.88%).

Regarding exchange rates, the variation compared to the close in New York indicates that the EUR/USD appears at 1.1307 (-0.06%), the EUR/JPY at 130.98 (-0.29%) and USD/JPY at 115.85 (-0.23%).

Investors will follow Thursday the first auction of Treasury Bonds (OAT) of the year. On this occasion, Agence France Trésor (AFT) will launch a new ten-year OAT, maturing in May 2032. In total, AFT will seek to place between 10 billion and 11 billion euros in securities.

European equity markets are expected to fall sharply on Thursday at the open, in the wake of Wall Street, after the publication of the minutes of the last monetary policy meeting of the Federal Reserve (Fed), which testified to concerns of central bankers in the face of inflation and their willingness to raise interest rates quickly to deal with it. At 7:35 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract lost 126 points, or 1.7%, according to data from broker IG Markets. The DAX 40 contract was down 260 points, or 1.6%, and the FTSE 100 contract was down 105 points, or 1.4%.

The Fed has decided to get tough on inflation even though the recovery in the labor market is still incomplete and the Omicron variant could lead to a slowdown in growth in the coming months. Uncertainties over the economic outlook remain “elevated,” the Fed minutes noted. The next central bank meeting will take place on January 25 and 26.

Wall Street ended sharply lower on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Index (DJIA), which had spent most of the session in the green, closed down 1.1%, at 36,407.11 points. The broader S&P 500 index lost 1.9% to 4,700.58 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 3.3% to 15,100.17 points. In Asia, the main indices fell on Thursday, following the selling movement observed in the United States the day before. The Nikkei index closed down 2.9% in Tokyo. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange's Hang Seng index lost 0.5% and the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.2% at the end of the session.

The yield on two-year U.S. Treasury bonds hit its highest level in nearly two years on Wednesday, following the release of Fed minutes. The report also lifted the 10-year stock's yield to its highest level since last April.

The euro fell slightly against the dollar on Thursday morning after the publication of the Fed's minutes. At the same time, the yen, considered a safe haven currency, appreciated against other major currencies in a context of risk aversion.

Oil contracts lost ground Thursday morning, in reaction to the minutes of the Fed and the announcement of a less pronounced than expected drop in crude inventories in the United States last week. At 7:25 a.m., the March North Sea Brent contract was down 65 cents, at $80.15 a barrel. The Nymex-listed light sweet crude (WTI) February contract was down 63 cents at $77.22 a barrel.