The equity markets expected to decline before the Fed's Beige Book and the ECB meeting. The Eurostoxx 50 opens at 4,225.01 points down 0.50%, the CAC 40 at 6,726.07 points (-0.26%), the DAX 30 at 15,843.09 points (-0.56%), the FTSE 100 at 7,149.37 points (-0.53%), the SMI at 12,344.38 points (-0.69%), the AEX at 794.73 points (-0.48%), the BEL 20 at 4,294.47 points (-0.47%), the IBEX 35 at 8,894.50 points (+0.14%), the DJIA at 35,100.00 points (-0.76%), the Nasdaq at 15,374.33 points (+0.07%), the S&P 500 at 4,520.03 points (-0.34%) and the Nikkei 225 at 30,036.47 points, an increase of 0.40%.

As for the exchange rate, the change from the close in New York indicates that EUR/USD opens at 1.1844   up 0.01%, EUR/JPY at 130.63 (+0.02%) and USD/JPY at 110.30 up 0.01%.

Investors will follow the France's July foreign trade figures on Wednesday. They will also react to the upward revision of the growth forecast of the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) for the French economy in 2021. INSEE now expects gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 6.25%, compared to 6% previously expected. On the corporate side, Scor is organizing an investor day. Airbus said Tuesday night it had received 102 orders for commercial aircraft in August, well above the average of previous months. Digital support service provider Solutions 30 has entered into an agreement with Open Dutch Fiber for the deployment of the operator's network in the Netherlands. This framework contract covers several projects and has a duration of five years. The first project will begin in the fourth quarter of 2021, Solutions30 said.

European equity markets are expected to continue their decline on Wednesday, as investors' attention turns to central banks ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve's (Fed) Beige Book and the European Central Bank's (ECB) monetary policy meeting on Thursday. At 7:35 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract was down 12 points, or 0.2%, according to data from broker IG Markets. The DAX contract lost 15 points, or 0.1%, and the FTSE 100 contract gave up 29 points, or 0.4%. While the Delta variant maintains uncertainty about the recovery of the global economy and the end of exceptional monetary support measures, the Fed's Beige Book, which will be published after the close of European markets, will provide a qualitative overview of the impact of this virus on activity, spending intentions and employment conditions in the United States, economists at Oddo BHF recently reported. Investors fear that the surge in new Covid-19 cases across the Atlantic could lead the Federal Reserve to postpone its plan to gradually reduce its asset purchases. The Beige Book is being prepared for the next meeting of the Fed's monetary policy committee, scheduled for September 21-22.

Wall Street closed in scattered order on Tuesday for the first session of the week across the Atlantic. The Nasdaq Composite Index set a new record on Apple's rise, while industrial stocks suffered. The Dow Jones Index (DJIA) lost 0.8% to 35,100 points and the broader S&P 500 Index fell 0.3% to 4,520. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1% to 15,374.33 points. In Asia, the main indices present a mixed picture on Wednesday, as the risk aversion observed on Wall Street spreads. At the end of the session, the Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 0.6%. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2% and in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng fell 0.4%.

U.S. Treasury bond yields fell slightly Wednesday morning after gaining ground the day before. The yield on the ten-year bond reached its highest level in nearly two months on Tuesday. At 7:35 a.m., the rate on the ten-year Treasury bill, the market's benchmark, stood at 1.371%, compared with 1.373% on Tuesday night. Ahead of the ECB meeting, Generali Investments says that proponents of accommodative monetary policy and those who prefer a more restrictive stance "all have valid arguments to defend either the status quo or a first step towards normalizing monetary policy." The ECB's growth and inflation projections are likely to be revised upwards on Thursday, but "the expected inflation rate at the end of the forecast period in 2023 is expected to remain well below the 2% target, suggesting that forward guidance on rates will not change", says economist Martin Wolburg. As regards the bond purchases of the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP), the majority of the members of the Governing Council recognise that the support measures adopted to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic have become less necessary and that the transition can begin, believes Generali Investments.

The euro moves little Wednesday morning against the dollar. However, the single currency could rise at the end of the week, as the ECB is expected to announce on Thursday a decrease in the pace of asset purchases under the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP) in the fourth quarter, TD Securities said. The ECB is expected to keep the rest of its monetary policy unchanged and revise its inflation forecasts for this year and the next sharply upwards, says Mark McCormick, TD's currency strategist. Oil contracts recovered slightly on Wednesday morning after being penalized the day before by the strength of the dollar and concerns about demand. Investors are awaiting the Energy Department's weekly report on U.S. oil inventories, which will be released on Thursday, a day later than usual, due to the U.S. markets closing monday for a holiday. At 7:25 a.m., the November Contract for North Sea Brent gained 14 cents to $71.83 a barrel. The October contract for light sweet crude (WTI) listed on the Nymex was up 24 cents, at $68.59 a barrel.