Paris drops 0.41%, Frankfurt 0.57%, London 0.43% and Milan 0.10%. In Switzerland, the SMI fell by 0.89%.
Stock markets fell on Wednesday, dampened by fears of the global economy entering recession next year, while oil prices fell sharply after the release of US inventories.
European stock markets ended down: Paris lost 0.41%, Frankfurt 0.57%, London 0.43% and Milan 0.10%. In Switzerland, the SMI dropped 0.89%.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones yielded 0.15%, the Nasdaq 0.55% and the S&P 500 0.27% around 5:55 p.m. GMT.
The day before, the New York place had already worried about the prospect of a more marked deterioration than expected in the economy next year.
“It looks like investors are starting to price in the possibility of a recession next year,” said Jack Ablin of Cresset Capital.
The action of the central banks to bring inflation back to an acceptable level is indeed starting to have an impact on the economy, which is showing more and more signs of slowing down.
Weak China trade balance numbers surprised analysts, said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.
China saw its exports and imports collapse in November in proportions not seen since the beginning of 2020, under the combined effect of its “zero Covid” policy and sluggish demand.
This fall in exports is all the more significant as the October-November period is traditionally the period when these should be the strongest, with shipments of goods in view of the Christmas holidays.
This risk of deterioration in the economic situation is all the more worrying as the monetary tightening by central banks is not yet complete.
“We are expecting the central bankers’ ball next week, with the Federal Reserve as the most important meeting. The recent US statistics that are better than expectations lead us to believe that the Federal Reserve will leave rates high for a long time to come,” anticipates Ilana Azuelos-Bossard, deputy director at Kiplink Finance.
Market operators will scrutinize US producer prices in November at the end of the week. “While a consistent number won’t heal all wounds, it could provide further evidence that inflation is moderating, which would allow the Fed to be less restrictive next week,” said analyst Craig Erlam. ‘Oanda.
On the bond market, US sovereign rates fell around 4:50 p.m. GMT, that of the 10-year debt was worth 3.46%, against 3.53% at the close of the previous day.
These gloomy prospects overshadow Beijing’s announcement of a general relaxation of health rules against Covid-19 (some positive cases are authorized to quarantine at home and the use of generalized PCR tests is reduced).
Volkswagen electrifies its stronghold
Volkswagen (-1.57%) will invest 460 million euros by 2025 to adapt its historic Wolfsburg site to the production of electric vehicles, but the German car manufacturer casts doubt on the project to build a new plant, the fate of which should be known at the beginning of next year.
Oil weighed down by the economic situation
Oil prices are falling after the publication of a sharper than expected fall by analysts of commercial oil reserves in the United States last week. Figures from the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) also reveal that demand for refined products in the US remained 7% below its 2021 level at the same time.
The barrel of American WTI fell 2.05% to 72.73 dollars around 4:50 p.m. GMT and that of Brent from the North Sea fell 1.59% to 78.08 dollars.
The euro strengthened 0.28% against the dollar to 1.0496 dollars to the euro, helped by stable figures for German industrial production. The dollar also lost 0.34% against the pound at 0.8214 pounds to the dollar.
Bitcoin fell 1.15% to $16,800.