PARIS / LONDON (dpa-AFX) – Most of Europe’s most important stock exchanges increased slightly on Thursday. However, they saved only part of their at times clearer gains to the finish. The EuroStoxx 50 (EURO STOXX 50) ended trading up 0.19 percent to 3674.54 points, while Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.11 percent to 7479.74 points. The French CAC 40 closed 0.08 percent weaker at 6381.56 points.
As in the previous days, investors should exercise caution in view of the forthcoming central bankers’ conference in Jackson Hole. “The market environment is currently very fragile and the mood can shift in one direction or the other almost every minute,” said market expert Andreas Lipkow from Comdirect. “This creates a wait-and-see attitude among investors.”
The central bankers’ conference, which has been eagerly awaited for days, does not begin this Thursday until well after the closing bell on the US stock exchanges. Representatives of the US Federal Reserve had made it clear in the run-up to Jackson Hole that they would like to see further tightening of the monetary policy expect for the future. This had wiped out the recent rally in equities. Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech, which has been announced for Friday, is likely to be checked primarily for indications of the pace of monetary tightening in the USA.
In a European industry comparison oil– and technology stocks most in demand on Thursday: Their sub-indices in the market-wide Stoxx Europe 600 each gained around one percent. The latter benefited from a tailwind from the USA. Prices on the Nasdaq technology exchange rose significantly more strongly than on the New York Stock Exchange (Nyse), where companies from more traditional sectors are listed. In contrast, the index of retailers was the clear bottom of the industry tableau with a minus of almost two percent.
The Irish building materials group CRH wants to increase its annual operating profit (Ebitda) despite the economic headwind. The share price increased by more than four percent.
Among the flagging real estate stocks, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (Unibail-Rodamco) stood out, up almost 4 percent. The French group took another step towards optimizing its portfolio with the sale of a property in southern California for more than 500 million dollars.
In contrast, the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis was ultimately unable to score with the announced separation from its Sandoz generics division: the shares lost 0.8 percent, bringing up the rear in the SMI. The area, which has been weak for a long time, is to be listed on the Swiss stock exchange as an independent company. The step is planned for the second half of 2023. Trading in Sandoz papers on the US market is also planned./gl/he