Scholarships in Europe retreat, technology weighs

The main European stock exchanges fell sharply Wednesday at the opening, penalized in particular by the continuing taking of profits in the technology compartment, whose high valuations concern investors.

In Paris, the CAC 40 index dropped 0.72% to 5,220.94 points around 07:30 GMT. In Frankfurt, the Dax lost 0.77% and in London, the FTSE fell by 0.4%. The EuroStoxx 50 index in the euro area drops 0.8%, the FTSEurofirst 300 0.64% and the Stoxx 600 0.66%.

The decline in European markets is in the wake of Wall Street and Asian exchanges after the postponement of the vote on the reform of the "Obamacare" in the United States.

On the foreign exchange market, the euro continued its rise and reached, at 1.1380 dollar, its highest level in a year, always carried by the words held by Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank ) On the sound health of the euro area economy, which revive speculation about the possibility of a reduction in monetary policy support in the coming months.

On the stock market, the biggest sectoral decline in Europe is for technology stocks whose index loses 1.35%.

In Paris, Soitec lost 6.5%, the strongest decline in SBF 120 , and STMicroelectronics (PA: STM ) lost 1.6%. Still on the semiconductor side, German Infineon drops almost 2%.

On Wall Street, the benchmark of the semiconductor sector lost 2.71% Tuesday, returning to the lowest since May 18.

In Amsterdam, ABN Amro lost 2.37% to 22.68 euros. The Dutch government announced the sale of 7% of the bank's capital, nationalized during the financial crisis, a partial privatization that will reduce the state's share to 63%. The unit selling price of the shares was set at 22.75 euros, a discount of 2.1% on the closing price on Tuesday.

Against the trend, Nestlé climbs 1.25% after announcing Tuesday a plan to buy back shares worth up to 20 billion Swiss francs (18.37 billion euros), after the announcement of the entry To its capital of the US activist fund Third Point, which demands improved margins, redemptions of securities and the sale of non-strategic assets, starting with its share in L'Oréal. The latter loses 0.71%.

In Paris, Legrand took 2.39%, by far the largest increase of the CAC, after the announcement of the acquisition of the American Milestone for 1.2 billion dollars (1.05 billion euros).

The Tokyo Stock Exchange finished down 0.47%, also penalized by technology stocks ( TFR ), and the MSCI index of Asia and Pacific ex-Japan yields 0.46.

On Tuesday, Wall Street ended a sharp decline, with the Dow Jones yielding 0.46%, Standard & Poor's 500 0.81% and Nasdaq 1.61% after having widened their losses in reaction to the announcement of the postponement of the vote In the Senate on the reform of health insurance, which revives the questions about the capacity of the Trump administration to implement its promises.

At the same time, US bond yields have risen sharply, supported, among other things, by statements by Janet Yellen, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, considering a gradual rise in interest rates.

The ten-year Treasuries' yield returned above 2.22%, a level around which it still moves on Wednesday, against 2.14% on Monday.

In Europe, where some analysts are discussing the possibility of a further reduction in the ECB's bond purchases in the coming months, the German 10-year yield rose to 0.39%, the highest since 25 May. Its French equivalent to more than 0.75%, also at the highest for more than a month.

On the foreign exchange market, the dollar, after a decline of 1% on Tuesday, is still yielding some ground against a basket of reference currencies and is approaching its low point of November 9th.

The dollar's weakness limits the downturn in oil after the American Petroleum Institute (API) figures showing a rise in crude and gasoline inventories in the United States last week.

The Brent is trading at around $ 46.33 a barrel, the US light crude (West Texas Intermediate, WTI), just under $ 44.