Wall Street is set to open lower on Thursday amid a wait-and-see attitude ahead of the release of key macroeconomic indicators in the US, while in Europe, with the exception of Frankfurt, the main stock markets continue to slide at mid-session, with risk aversion dominating in the run-up to France's parliamentary elections.

Futures on New York indices showed Wall Street opening down 0.18% for the Dow Jones, 0.17% for the Standard & Poor's 500 and 0.22% for the Nasdaq. In the United States, investors are awaiting the publication of the gross domestic product (GDP) for the 1st quarter, scheduled for 12:30 GMT, as well as the PCE price index figures, due on Friday. These data are essential for anticipating the US Federal Reserve's rate path.

In Paris, the CAC 40, weighed down by political uncertainty, was down 0.65% at 7,559.55 points around 11:25 GMT. In Frankfurt, the Dax resisted the downward trend, nibbling up 0.07%, thanks to real estate. In London, the FTSE was down 0.30%.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index lost 0.27%, the Eurozone EuroStoxx 50 0.12% and the Stoxx 600 0.28%.

Tensions were felt in the bond compartment, where the yield on the French ten-year OAT exceeded 3.26%, compared with a peak of 3.23% for its Portuguese equivalent. The first round of early parliamentary elections in France is scheduled for Sunday in a highly polarized poll. A new televised debate is due to pit the leaders of the three main coalitions against each other in the evening, with polls showing the Rassemblement National (RN) in the lead, ahead of the left-wing alliance and the presidential majority.

"In Europe, there is political uncertainty which limits any upside potential in the run-up to the French elections," points out Fiona Cincotta, market analyst at City Index.

Sector-wise in Europe, retail (-1.95%) and basic resources (-0.73%) are suffering after H&M's disappointing results and Anglo American's downgrade.

STOCKS TO WATCH ON WALL STREET

Micron Technology fell by 6.8% in pre-market trading after its sales forecast for the current quarter was deemed disappointing. In Micron's wake, Nvidia, Arm Holdings, Qualcomm and Advanced Micro Devices lost 0.8% to 1.1%.



VALUES IN EUROPE

OVHcloud jumped 10.42% after reporting higher-than-expected quarterly sales on Thursday.

Kering gains 3.73%, BofA Global Research having upgraded its rating on the luxury group from "underperform" to "buy".

Anglo American dropped 1.22% as Berenberg lowered its recommendation on the stock to "sell" from "hold", citing concerns over the group's new strategic plans.

H&M plunges 12.72% after reporting a second-quarter profit below expectations on Thursday and warning of lower sales in June, casting doubt on its annual operating margin target.

RATES

Eurozone government bond yields hit their highest levels in two weeks on Thursday, as investors eagerly awaited inflation data from the US and several European countries (France, Spain and Italy).

The yield on the ten-year German Bund rose to 2.464%, while the spread with its French equivalent of the same maturity climbed by more than seven basis points (bps) to 79.9 bps.

In the United States, the yield on ten-year Treasuries also rose, to 4.3294%, while the probability of a Fed rate cut in September is only 56%. Investors are also keeping an eye on the first debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, scheduled for Thursday night.



CURRENCIES

The dollar is down 0.14% against a basket of benchmark currencies, but remains close to the nearly two-month high reached on Wednesday at 106.13 points.

The euro advanced 0.19% to $1.0699, but is heading for a 1.4% loss for the month as a whole.

The yen stagnated on Thursday near its lowest level in 38 years, at around 160 to the dollar, continuing to fuel speculation of intervention by the Japanese authorities.

OIL

Oil prices edged up, as risks of supply disruption amid growing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East offset demand concerns following a surprise rise in US crude inventories.

Brent crude gained 0.48% to $85.66 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) 0.42% to $81.24.

MAIN ECONOMIC INDICATORS FOR JUNE 27: COUNTRY GMT INDICATOR PERIOD PREVIOUS CONSENSUS USA 12:30 PM Durable Goods May -0.1% +0.6% USA 12:30 PM Weekly Jobless Claims Week to 22 236,000 238,000

June unemployment USA 12:30 Final GDP Q1 +1.3% +1.3% (Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Blandine Hénault)