Wall Street is expected to rise on Wednesday, and European stock markets are in the green at mid-session, supported in particular by banks and high-tech with news about UBS, Alibaba and Infineon, but the underlying trend remains cautious ahead of several key macroeconomic indicators scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Futures on New York indices point to a Wall Street opening up 0.76% for the Dow Jones, 0.87% for the Standard & Poor's 500 and 0.86% for the Nasdaq, amid easing fears about the banks. In Paris, the CAC 40 gained 1.21% to 7,174.26 around 10:50 GMT. In Frankfurt, the Dax advanced by 0.91%, while in London, the FTSE gained 0.78%.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index gained 0.84%, the Eurozone EuroStoxx 50 1.09% and the Stoxx 600 0.91%.

UBS (+1.44%) announced on Wednesday the surprise appointment of its former boss Sergio Ermotti, the current chairman of Swiss Re (+0.52%), as CEO to steer the takeover of Credit Suisse (+1.38%), the latest positive development in a banking sector trying to recover from recent turbulence.

The Stoxx 600 banking index gained 1.1% and the finance index 0.89%.

"The decision to recall Sergio Ermotti is very positive, as it reduces the integration and execution risks (of the Credit Suisse takeover) by 80%," commented Davide Serra, Managing Director of Algebris Investments.

The Vontobel bank, in a note, also welcomes the appointment of Sergio Ermotti as head of UBS, believing that he is "the right person for this difficult task, given his experience in the successful transformation of UBS after the global financial crisis".

The Euro Stoxx 50 volatility index fell by 6.6% to 20.62 points, its lowest level since March 10.

The market trend remains fragile, however, ahead of the release of US fourth-quarter GDP data (Thursday) and the February PCE price index (Friday), the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) preferred measure of inflation.

German inflation figures for March will be released on Thursday, before those for the eurozone as a whole on Friday, while Peter Kazimir, member of the European Central Bank (ECB), and Philip Lane, the institution's chief economist, agreed on Wednesday that interest rates would have to rise further to contain rising prices.

VALUES IN EUROPE Meanwhile, on the stock market, the new technologies segment, up 1.79%, was the best performer on the Stoxx 600, with Infineon (+6.38%) raising its financial forecasts for the year as a whole.

The sector was already buoyed by the reorganization of Chinese giant Alibaba, which is to split into six units. STMicroelectronics, ASML Holding, ASM International and BE Semiconductor Industries gained from 1.12% to 5.25%.

In other corporate news, Atos plunged 16.51%, the biggest drop on the SBF 120 (+1.17%), while Airbus advanced 2.24%. On Wednesday, the IT services group confirmed the end of discussions concerning a stake in Evidian.

Mercedes-Benz (-1.84%) was penalized by a possible partial withdrawal from its capital by the Kuwaiti sovereign wealth fund.

STOCKS TO WATCH ON WALL STREET

CHANGES

The dollar stagnated (+0.06%) against a basket of reference currencies in a context of relative calm on the markets.

The euro and sterling are also treading water, at $1.0851 (+0.07%) and $1.234 (+0.01%) respectively.

RATES

Government bond yields are also easing after the sharp rises of recent sessions: the ten-year US Treasury note yields 3.5469% (-2 basis points), while the German Bund yields the same maturity at 2.29% (virtually unchanged).

OIL

Oil prices strengthened for the third session in a row, still driven by supply concerns following the suspension of crude exports from Iraqi Kurdistan.

Brent crude gained 0.98% to $79.42 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 1.26% to $74.12.

NO FURTHER MAJOR ECONOMIC INDICATORS ON TODAY'S AGENDA

THE SITUATION ON THE MARKETS:

(Some data may be slightly delayed)

WALL STREET

Indices Last Var. Var. %

points

Dow Jones 32836.0 +248.00 +0.76

0

S&P-500 4036.25 +34.75 +0.87%

Nasdaq-100 12835.2 +102.75 +0.81%

5

"The Day Ahead" - The next update

session on Wall Street [DAY/US].

The session

previous session :

Indices Close Var. Var. % YTD

points

Dow Jones 32394.2 -37.83 -0.12% -2.27%

5

S&P-500 3971.27 -6.26 -0.16% +3.43%

Nasdaq 11716.0 -52.76 -0.45% +11.94%

8

Nasdaq 100 12610.5 -62.50 -0.49% +15.27%

7

MARKETS

EUROPE

Indices Last Var. Var. % YTD

points

Eurofirst 300 1775.00 +14.93 +0.85% +5.75

Eurostoxx 50 4215.82 +47.61 +1.14% +11.13%

CAC 40 7176.83 +88.49 +1.25% +10.86%

Dax 30 15,280.7 +138.74 +0.92% +9.75% +9.75

6

FTSE 7543.03 +58.78 +0.79% +1.23%

SMI 10929.8 +90.71 +0.84% +1.87%

2

Stocks to watch in Paris and in

Europe: [WATCH/LFR]

CHANGES

Price Watch % change YTD

Euro/Dlr 1.0856 1.0843 +0.12% +1.44%

Dlr/Yen 131.89 130.86 +0.79% +0.59%

Euro/Yen 143.18 141.92 +0.89% +2.05

Dlr/CHF 0.9178 0.9195 -0.18% -0.71%

Euro/CHF 0.9965 0.9974 -0.09% +0.70%

Stg/Dlr 1.2343 1.2340 +0.02% +2.03%

Indice $ 102,504 102,430 +0.07% +6.58%

0 0

RATES

Last Var. Spread/Bund

(pts)

Future Bund 135.970 -0.0500

0

Bund 10 years 2.2950 +0.0100

Bund 2 years 2.6040 +0.0210

OAT 10 years 2.8100 +0.0040 +51.50

Treasury 10 yrs 3.5526 -0.0150

Treasury 2 years 4.0413 -0.0210

OIL

(in dollars) Price Prev. % YTD

nt

US light crude 74.08 73.20 +0.88 +1.20% +21.03

Brent crude 79.38 78.65 +0.73 +0.93% +20.22

(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Blandine Hénault)

by Claude Chendjou