Paris (AFP)

Wanting to believe that the peak of the epidemic is about to be crossed in Europe, the markets redoubled their spirits on Tuesday, pending a meeting of European finance ministers which should lead to new support measures for the economy.

While the major Asian stock markets ended largely in the green, European indices were not outdone at the opening, and continued their upward momentum at midday.

Around 2:30 p.m. (12:30 p.m. GMT), Paris rose by 2.36%, Frankfurt by 3.50% and London by 2.67%. For their part, Milan and Madrid appreciated by 3.07% and 3.41% respectively.

An optimism about to be transmitted on the other side of the Atlantic, where Wall Street, after a jump of more than 7% on Monday, was preparing to consolidate its rebound.

The futures contract on the Dow Jones Industrial Average index gained 3.26%, the broad S&P 500 index 2.83% and that of the Nasdaq, with a strong technological coloring, 2.70%.

"European markets got off to a positive start this (Tuesday) morning as there is growing hope that Europe and the United Kingdom have passed the peak of the virus and are on a downward slope with regard to the rate mortality and contamination "by the new coronavirus, analyzes Michael Hewson, an analyst at CMC Markets UK.

However, if the markets have regained hope on Monday, after the decline over the weekend in the daily number of deaths in Italy and Spain, the decline seemed far from being confirmed on Tuesday.

Thus the daily balance sheet went up again in Spain on Tuesday and the same trend was observed in Italy the day before as in France.

There was also concern in the United Kingdom, which with 5,373 deaths is one of the hardest hit countries in Europe, with its leader Boris Johnson in intensive care.

Despite this, investors already seemed to anticipate a gradual exit from containment, which to date affects more than half of humanity.

"This does not mean that the end of containment is imminent but offers the prospect that it may well last less than what some of the worst investor scenarios" anticipated, said Hewson.

"Our feeling is that there is a recurrence in this cycle of rise, capping and then decline of the disease", as has been observed in China, South Korea and now in Europe, notes his François-Marc Durand, president of Lazard Frères Gestion.

Thus "we have an epidemic duration which is ultimately quite short" with the containment measures taken, says Matthieu Grouès, head of strategy at Lazard Frères Gestion.

"And yesterday Austria announced that it would start deconfinement next week," which is "a first sign of very good omen," he added.

- Towards a progressive deconfinement? -

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will present "guidelines" on Wednesday to ensure a coordinated end to the confinement period imposed to halt the spread of the new coronavirus.

"The rise in oil prices is the second lever that confirms this increase" in the markets, notes Franklin Pichard, general manager of Kiplink Finances.

Oil prices resumed in effect on Tuesday, investors were optimistic about an agreement to reduce world production of black gold between the main producing countries at a meeting scheduled for Thursday.

On the foreign exchange market, the euro rose sharply against the dollar, after six days of decline, while the pound sterling was not affected by the worsening state of health of the British Prime Minister.

In an attempt to ease the economic burden of the crisis, announcements of support from states and central banks continued.

Reports that "the US administration is preparing for another $ 1.5 trillion stimulus package, which is expected to be launched in May," contributed significantly to the strength of the markets earlier this week, said Hewson. .

The US Federal Reserve also announced Monday that it will mobilize to participate in the gigantic rescue plan for small and medium-sized businesses.

But the main point of attention this Tuesday, according to Mr. Pichard, will be "the teleconference of the finance ministers of the Eurogroup, intended to try to find common solutions to deal with the situation".

Against this backdrop, European bond yields were stretching to the margins, in particular the benchmark German ten-year borrowing rate.

© 2020 AFP