#Cautious #European #stock #markets #Piazza #Affari #holds #Leonardo #Nexi
by Chiara Di Michele and Martina Soligo
After the cold shower of higher-than-expected US inflation, concern about rates continues to keep stock markets in check. Oil rises slightly, gas drops
2′ reading
(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – European stock markets are moving cautiously, with concerns about interest rates, after the cold shower of higher-than-expected US inflation, which continues to keep stock markets in check. Investors see the long-awaited cut by central banks receding. Meanwhile, ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos, speaking at the eighth annual conference of Mediterranean central banks, stated that we must not “give in to the temptation to act prematurely. It will still take some time before we have the information needed to confirm that inflation is sustainably returning to our 2% target.” Inflation in Great Britain meanwhile marks an increase of 0.4% in January and 4% annually, while data on EU industrial production and the flash estimate of GDP are awaited.
The FTSE MIB of Milan, the CAC 40 of Paris, the DAX 30 of Frankfurt, the IBEX 35 of Madrid, the AEX of Amsterdam and the FT-SE 100 of London are thus moving above parity.
Leonardo and Nexi go up to Piazza Affari
In Milan the Ftse Mib is kept afloat by Leonardo – Finmeccanica and Nexi. According to press rumours, the latter has rejected F2i’s offer for the interbank network, although negotiations are continuing. Telecom Italia and Interpump Group are weak on the day in which their respective boards of directors meet on the preliminary accounts for 2023. On the opposite front, at the bottom of the list, Saipem and Iveco Group.
Spread little moved in the 154 point area
The spread between BTp and Bund changed little, at 154 points (155 at closing), while the yield of the benchmark ten-year BTp fell slightly, to 3.91% from 3.93% at the closing date the day before.
Euro weak, oil rising slightly, gas falling
On the currency, the weakness of the euro continues, trading around 1.070 dollars (from 1.0715 at the closing the day before). The single currency is also worth around 161 yen. Oil rose slightly, with OPEC’s monthly report raising some concerns about the group’s adherence to its recent production cuts. Brent in April thus trades around 82 dollars a barrel and WTI in March close to 78 dollars. Natural gas in Amsterdam is decreasing, trading at around 25 euros per megawatt hour.
Tokyo down, BoJ rate policy limits losses
Downward closing for the Tokyo Stock Exchange which retreated after the gains of the day before in a context of weakness in the Asian markets and Wall Street. In particular, the Nikkei 225 index closed down 0.69% at 37,703 points, after exceeding the 38,000 threshold yesterday for the first time in 34 years. Prospects of accommodative policy from the Bank of Japan helped limit losses. The central bank has, in fact, recently signaled that it is unlikely to raise interest rates aggressively even as it moves away from its negative interest rate policy. Markets in mainland China are closed for the Lunar New Year.
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