Opened actions down after a further rise in Covid-19 cases in Europe and Japan. The Eurostoxx 50 opened at 4,035.77 points (-0.51%), the CAC 40  at  6,460.08 points (-0.51%), the DAX 30  at 15,540.31 points (-0.57%), the FTSE 100  at  7,008.09 points (-0.06%), the SMI at 12,026.50 points (+0.42%), the AEX at 736.52 points (-0.39%), the BEL 20  at 4,155.08 points (+0.13%), the IBEX 35 at 8,506.20 points (-0.24%), the DJIA at 34,687.85 points (-0.86%), the Nasdaq at 14,427.24 points (-0.80%), the S&P 500 at 4,327.16 points (-0.75%) and the Nikkei 225 at 27,648.81 points (-1.27%).

As regarding the exchange rate, the change from the close in New York indicates that EUR/USD is at 1.1807   (+0.01%), EUR/JPY at 129.76 (-0.14%) and USD/JPY  at 109.91 (-0.16%).

European equity markets are expected to open lower on Monday, hurt by intensifying concerns about the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus, as investors await the rest of the earnings season and monetary policy announcements from the European Central Bank. eacute;enne (ECB) on Thursday. At 7:35 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract lost 35 points, or 0.5%, according to data from broker IG Markets. The DAX 30 contract was down 84 points, or 0.5%, and the FTSE 100 contract was down 48 points, or 0.7%.

  The health situation has been deteriorating for several weeks in Europe and several Asian countries, including Japan, affected by the Delta variant of the coronavirus. Against this backdrop and as investors worry about the high level of inflation in the United States, Wall Street ended lower on Friday. The Dow Jones Index (DJIA) lost 0.9% to 34,687.85 points, and the broader S&P 500 Index fell 0.8% to 4,327.12 points. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index also ended down 0.8% at 14,427.24 points. In Asia, the main markets showed sharp declines on Monday. At the end of the session, the Nikkei index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 1.4%. The Hang Seng fell 1.6% in Hong Kong and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up 0.1%.

US Treasury bond yields fall on Monday, as investors await a series of economic indicators on the U.S. housing market, which should help assess the pace of economic growth and inflation. Markets fear a strong but potentially inflationary recovery across the Atlantic in the coming months. At 7:35 a.m., the yield on the ten-year Treasury bill, the market benchmark, fell to 1.281% from 1.294% on Friday night.

The euro posted a slight rise against the dollar on Monday morning, but lingering concerns about the Delta variant of the coronavirus are weighing on market sentiment. For its part, UniCredit notes that the currencies of countries exposed to the Delta variant, including the pound sterling, the Australian dollar and the South African rand, are likely to experience increased volatility in the future.

Oil contracts are receding on Monday morning, after an agreement was reached between members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their Russian-led allies on a gradual increase in production until the end of 2022. At 7:25 a.m., the September contract for North Sea Brent lost 68 cents to $72.91 a barrel and the August contract for Nymex-listed light sweet crude (WTI) dropped 69 cents to $71.12 a barrel. OPEC+ agreed on Sunday to raise its monthly production by 400,000 barrels per day, which will allow it to return to production levels in force before the health crisis by the end of 2022 while acting gradually to take into account the uncertainties weighing on the economic recovery and the return of oil demand to its pre-pandemic levels. Oil prices have recently lost ground in anticipation of a deal, but analysts point out that the gradual nature of OPEC+ planned production increases could continue to put pressure on prices. According to broker Oanda, prices are affected on Monday not only by the agreement reached by OPEC+ but also by the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases worldwide.