European stock markets are expected to open higher

(ABM FN-Dow Jones) The European stock markets are heading for a higher opening on Thursday, on the last trading day of this week.

IG forecasts an opening gain of 45 points for the German DAX, a plus of 29 points for the French CAC 40 and a rise of 37 points for the British FTSE 100.

The European stock markets closed in green on Wednesday.

Gains on the stock markets remained limited due to increased caution in the market in the run-up to the inflation figures from the US and the eurozone, which influence the interest rate policy of central banks.

On a macroeconomic level, it was announced on Wednesday that consumer confidence in the euro zone improved in March. The index rose by 0.6 point to -14.9.

“Sentiment is slowly improving for the eurozone economy. The end of a long period of stagnation in the eurozone is getting closer as companies become more optimistic about the months ahead,” ING economist Bert Colijn said, adding that inflation expectations for the eurozone are also improving services sector will become more favorable, which will confirm the ECB’s view that interest rates can be lowered.

Consumer confidence also rose in France. The confidence index stood at 91 compared to 90 in February.

Consumer prices in Spain rose by 3.2 percent year on year in March, compared to 2.8 percent a month earlier. This made the increase slightly smaller than economists had feared. Core inflation fell.

The Riksbank left the interest rate unchanged at 4.00 percent on Wednesday.

Company news

In Frankfurt, Zalando gained about 4.5 percent, Bayer rose about 4 percent, while Sartorius lost almost 2 percent.

In Paris, Orange gained 1.7 percent, Carrefour rose 1.4 percent and Schneider Electric lost almost 3 percent.

Universal Music Group has inked a deal to distribute music from K-pop-focused music label HYBE for the next decade. The companies will collaborate on artist promotion and marketing in North America. UMG’s share price was 1.0 percent higher.

ING has started monitoring Wolters Kluwer with a buy recommendation and a price target of 170.00 euros. ING expects further growth acceleration and margin growth, which should support earnings per share. Wolters Kluwer closed 0.7 percent higher.

Hennes & Mauritz published better than expected figures for the past quarter, but Bernstein analysts found the outlook very ambitious. The price nevertheless ended more than 15 percent higher.

Euro STOXX 50 5,081.74 (+0.4%)

STOXX Europe 600 511.75 (+0.1%)

DAX 18,477.09 (+0.5%)

CAC 40 8,204.81 (+0.3%)

FTSE 100 7,931.98 (0.0%)

SMI 11,705.71 (+0.2%)

AEX 879.10 (+0.1%)

BEL 20 3,832.99 (+0.7%)

FTSE MIB 34,759.69 (+0.2%)

IBEX 35 11,111.30 (+1.1%)

US STOCKS

According to the American futures, Wall Street will open on Thursday around yesterday’s closing prices, when there was still a green close.

US benchmarks largely held on to early gains throughout the day yesterday and kept the momentum going in afternoon trading as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 looked set to break their three-day losing streak.

In the meantime, investors are awaiting US PCE inflation data in the hope that they will provide some clarity on the direction of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.

The PCE report will be released on Friday, when the US and European markets are closed for Good Friday, “creating a challenging situation for investors as markets will not reopen until Monday,” CMC Markets noted.

On a macroeconomic level, it was announced on Wednesday that the number of mortgage applications in the US fell by 0.7 percent last week. The market index fell from 198.2 to 196.8.

The May future for a barrel of crude oil closed $0.27 lower at $81.35 on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday. The latest data from the US energy agency EIA showed on Wednesday that US crude oil inventories rose last week.

On a macroeconomic level, five publications are scheduled for Thursday in the US. The weekly aid applications and economic growth figures will be published before the market opens, followed by the Chicago purchasing managers index, upcoming home sales and consumer confidence later in the day.

Company news

Direct Digital Holdings fell about 38 percent, after a loss of $0.08 per share in the fourth quarter, instead of a profit of $0.26 that analysts expected. The share closed 8 percent lower on Tuesday.

Pharmaceutical giant Merck gained approximately 5.0 percent. Winrevair, a drug for high blood pressure, has received approval from the American medical watchdog FDA.

Intel fueled Wednesday’s rally with a gain of nearly 4.0 percent. Caterpillar, Apple and Boeing also contributed significantly to the rally with gains of around 2.0 percent each.

GameStop disappointed with fourth-quarter figures and the stock was down approximately 15 percent.

Robinhood rose about 3.0 percent after the online broker launched its new Robinhood Gold Card on Tuesday with a range of features, including 3 percent cash back on all purchases.

Pharmaceutical giant Merck gained approximately 5.0 percent. Winrevair, a drug for high blood pressure, has received approval from the American medical watchdog FDA.

S&P 500 index 5,248.49 (+0.9%)

Dow Jones index 39,760.08 (+1.2%)

Nasdaq Composite 16,399.52 (+0.5%)

ASIA

The Asian stock markets were divided on Thursday. China did well, hoping that the Chinese central bank may provide new stimulus.

Nikkei 225 40,128.10 (-1.6%)

Shanghai Composite 3,019.01 (+0.9%)

Hang Seng 16,657.57 (+1.6%)

CURRENCIES

The euro/dollar traded at 1.0822. When the American stock exchanges closed on Wednesday, the currency pair was still at 1.0825 and when the European stock exchanges closed, the value was still 1.0821.

USD/JPY Yen 151.35

EUR/USD Euro 1.0822

EUR/JPY Yen 163.78

MACRO AGENDA:

08:00 Retail Sales – February (Dld)

08:00 Economic growth – Fourth quarter final (UK)

09:55 Unemployment – March (Dld)

1:30 PM Aid Applications – Weekly (US)

13:30 Economic growth – Fourth quarter final (USA)

14:45 Purchasing Managers Index Chicago – March (US)

3:00 PM Upcoming home sales – February (US)

3:00 PM Michigan Consumer Confidence – March final (USA)

COMPANY NEWS:

– No agenda items

Source: ABM Financial News

ABM Financial News is a supplier of stock market news, video and data, both for real-time trading platforms and dealing rooms and for online and offline media publications. The information in this article is not intended as professional investment advice or as a recommendation to make certain investments.