European markets should continue to benefit from the easing of geopolitical tensions. The Eurostoxx 50 opens at 4,143.71 points (+1.95%), the CAC 40 at 6,979.97 points (+1.86%), the DAX 40 at 15,411.71 points (+1.98%) ), the FTSE 100 at 7,608.92 points (+1.03%), the SMI at 12,181.86 points (+1.29%), the AEX at 755.22 points (+0.98%), the BEL 20 at 4,067.53 points (+1.56%), IBEX 35 at 8,718.00 points (+1.68%), DJIA at 34,988.84 points (+1.22%), Nasdaq at 14,139.76 points (+2.53%), the S&P 500 at 4,471.07 points (+1.58%) and the Nikkei 225 at 27,460.40 points (+2.22%).
On the exchange rate side, the variation compared to the closing in New York indicates that EUR/USD at 1.1355 (-0.04%), EUR/JPY at 131.33 (+0.02 %), USD/JPY at 115.68 (+0.07%).
Carrefour, Air Liquide, Klépierre, Groupe ADP, Imerys, FDJ, Nexans and Verallia publish their annual results on Wednesday. On Tuesday evening, Bic announced that it expects another year of revenue growth in 2022, after recording a sharp rebound in sales in 2021. Bic expects revenue growth of 7% to 9% at constant exchange rates, of which 1 to 2% will be linked to the takeover of Inkbox finalized last week. M6 reported an increase in its profitability in 2021, the audiovisual group having benefited from record advertising revenues and good cost control. The credit insurer Coface has published a record net result and up 170% for the 2021 financial year.
European equity markets are expected to open higher, buoyed by hopes of a diplomatic resolution to tensions between Ukraine and Russia. At 7:30 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract gained 24 points, or 0.4%, according to data from broker IG Markets. The contract on the DAX 40 rose 73 points, or 0.5%, and that on the FTSE 100 gained 22 points, or 0.3%.
Wall Street rebounded on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Index (DJIA) closed up 1.2% to 34,988.84 points, and the broader S&P 500 index rose 1.6% to 4,471.07 points. The Nasdaq Composite gained 2.5% to 14,139.76 points.
In Asia, markets rebounded on Wednesday thanks to the easing of tensions linked to Ukraine and the latest inflation figures in China. At the end of the session, the Hang Seng index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange gained 1.1% and the Shanghai Composite took 0.3%. The Nikkei for its part closed up 2.2% in Tokyo. China's producer and consumer price inflation continued to slow in January, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.
The producer price index in China rose 9.1% year on year in January, after 10.3% in December and 12.9% in November. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal expected a 9.5% rise in producer prices in January. Compared with December, producer prices in China fell 0.2% last month. Meanwhile, the consumer price index rose 0.9% year on year last month, after rising 1.5% in December, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Economists were anticipating inflation of 0.9% in December.
The yield on the ten-year US Treasury bond fell to 2.041% on Wednesday morning, from 2.048% on Tuesday evening. Data released on Tuesday showed a 1% jump in US producer prices in January month on month, suggesting that inflation remains strong in the economy. The rise in producer prices was stronger than expected by economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires, who expected a 0.5% increase.
The euro is almost unchanged against the dollar on Wednesday morning. Risk aversion has eased slightly since the announcement of the withdrawal of some Russian troops from the Ukrainian border. Markets are clearing the geopolitical risk premium tied to Ukraine, but the prospect of an aggressive cycle of Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate hikes should keep the base intact for the DXY Dollar Index, says Westpac.
Oil prices changed little Wednesday morning. At around 7:15 a.m., the April North Sea Brent contract was taking 5 cents, at $93.33 a barrel. The Nymex-listed light sweet crude (WTI) March contract gained 19 cents to $92.26 a barrel.