Paris rose by 1.38%, Frankfurt by 1.47% and Milan by 1.03%, while London ended further down (+0.37%) weighted by the raw materials sector. In Zurich, the SMI grabbed 0.23%.
Markets were supported on Wednesday by favorable quarterly corporate results, with the exception of Netflix’s further fall, while bond market interest rates eased slightly.
In Europe, Paris gained 1.38%, Frankfurt 1.47% and Milan 1.03% while London ended further down (+0.37%) weighted by the raw materials sector. In Switzerland, the flagship SMI index gained 0.23% at the close.
The Dow Jones had a second session in the green (+0.91%), as did the S&P 500 (+0.33%). Conversely, the Nasdaq fell by 0.91%, weighed down by the fall of more than 35% of Netflix, faced with a decline in the number of its subscribers.
After another surge in long rates on Tuesday, the sovereign debt market eased a little on Wednesday. The yield on the 30-year US Treasury note exceeded 3%, before returning to 2.91%, and that of ten years approached it, before settling at around 2.86%.
Market participants are expecting a half-percentage-point hike in policy rates at the next US Federal Reserve meeting in early May, followed by several more over the course of the year.
“If central banks do not act quickly and more aggressively, inflation expectations are likely to rise, which will ultimately lead to even more aggressive tightening and therefore a deeper recession”, urge analysts from Deutsche Bank.
The euro recovers a little against the dollar
The euro rose on Wednesday against the US dollar, which marked a break in its frantic rise in recent sessions, analysts continuing to bet on a greenback boosted by a strict US monetary policy. Around 3:55 p.m. GMT, the European currency regained 0.66% to 1.0859 dollars.
Bitcoin was stable at $41,275.
The rebound in oil prices was short-lived on Wednesday after an initial decline of more than 5% the day before, due to fears linked to global growth.
Around 3:40 p.m. GMT, a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in June lost 1.01% to 106.14 dollars.
A barrel of US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in May, which is the last day of use as a benchmark contract, fell 0.84% to 101.70 dollars.
Netflix, the law of series
Streaming giant Netflix once again disappointed analysts when it released its results. The group, which lost 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter compared to the end of 2021, fell by 37%. The stock was worth $220, about a third of its October 2021 peak.
Other entertainment groups like Disney (-4.71%), Roku (-4.54%) and Warner Bros. Discovery (-4.72%) were dragged into the fall.
ASML at the limit of its production capacity
The Dutch manufacturer of lithography systems for the microprocessor industry said it was at the limit of its production capacity in the context of a global shortage of chips. The stock jumped 5.31%.
Other values in the sector followed, such as the German Infineon (+2.20%) or the Franco-Italian STMicroelectronics (+3.17%).
IBM, Danone, L’Oréal are progressing
Among other results, IBM, in the United States, climbed 7.57%, after announcing, on Tuesday after the close, a quarterly profit higher than expectations, thanks in particular to more activity in its “cloud” offer ( remote computing).
In France, Danone shares jumped 5.76% after the publication of better-than-expected sales in the first quarter. “This is a positive start for the group’s new strategy,” detailed RBC Capital Markets in a note.
Just Eat Takeaway.com (+1.93%), the consumer goods manufacturer Procter & Gamble (+2.67%) in the United States, L’Oréal in Paris (+0.77%) and the materials group CRH (+5.44%) in London were also praised.