MILANO – Cuts in the cost of money remain at the center of investors’ attention, who register different gradations in the tone of central bankers. Yesterday in the Italian evening, the president of the Fed, Jerome Powell, used a hawkish tone, saying that the fight against inflation is taking longer than expected and rates will remain high for the time needed to get closer to the 2% target. The last two readings on American prices have indeed been disappointing, with inflation once again pointing upwards. An outlook that has kept Treasury yields under pressure, with the two-year maturity testing 5%. Expectations of cuts in the cost of US money, according to the market, are now limited to 25-50 points over the course of the year.
In the Old Continent, however, not only the president of the ECB, Christine Lagarde, confirmed that in the absence of shocks, cuts in the cost of borrowing are appropriate in the coming months. The Bank of England has also moved into the fast lane of the Fed and the governor Bailey explained that there is greater “demand-driven inflationary pressure” in the US than in the UK. In the United Kingdom, the BoE governor said, there is evidence of a retreat in inflation and this puts the two Atlantic economies on a diverging path.
Meanwhile, on the markets, oil prices are still cooling despite the tensions in the Middle East and European prices are moving cautiously upwards. Positive closing for China, Tokyo closes sharply lower due to fears over chip supply.
The Milan Stock Exchange extends with banks and luxury
The Milan Stock Exchange is slowing down with banking and luxury. The Ftse Mib rises by 1% to 33,741 points. Always in the lead is Popolare di Sondrio (+3.3%) with Banco Bpm (+2.5%) and Mps (+1.98%). Among others, Diasorin did well (+3%) with analysts seeing the quarter as positive. Moncler rises (+1.61%) with the good pace in Paris (+1%) of LVMH (+3.4%) on the basis of the quarterly results. Outside the main basket, Saes Getters is strong (+4.66%) with the takeover bid by the main shareholder preparatory to the exit from Piazza Affari. Slight increase in the spread. The differential between BTPs and Bunds stands at 144 points with the yield on the Italian 10-year bond falling to 3.92%.
Eurozone inflation confirmed at 2.4%. In Italy it is half
The euro area’s annual inflation rate was 2.4% in March 2024, down from 2.6% in February. A year earlier it was 6.9%. The European Union’s annual inflation was 2.6% in March, down from 2.8% in February. A year earlier the rate was 8.3%. These are the data published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. The lowest annual rates were recorded in Lithuania (0.4%), Finland (0.6%) and Denmark (0.8%). The highest annual rates were recorded in Romania (6.7%), Croatia (4.9%), Estonia and Austria (both 4.1%). The Italian figure is 1.2%. Compared to February, annual inflation decreased in thirteen Member States, remained stable in four and increased in ten. In March, the highest contribution to the euro area’s annual inflation rate came from services (+1.76 percentage points, pp), followed by food, alcohol and tobacco (+0.53 pp), non-energy industrial goods (+0.30 pp) and energy (-0.16 pp).
Abi: “An EU deposit guarantee fund for banks is premature”
The ABI executive committee asks the president of the Econ commission of the EU Parliament Irene Tinagli for “a gradual and orderly approach” in the establishment of the European deposit guarantee fund (EDIS), avoiding a “premature” decision. This can be read in a note according to which the ABI also informed the Italian government and the governor of the Bank of Italy of the letter sent to Tinagli. In the letter, the banking association underlined that in relation to the debate underway in recent days at the ECON Commission chaired by you on the proposal for a regulation for a European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS), “we would like to reiterate” that “a decision on ‘Edis at this moment would be premature.”
Elkann at the Ferrari assembly: “Record results and goals”
“Ferrari closed 2023 with record results and goals. Despite the difficulties posed by a complex macroeconomic context, the strength of the Ferrari brand and the vitality of the company were confirmed.” This was stated by John Elkann, president of Ferrari, at the opening of the shareholders’ meeting. “Ferrari’s uniqueness in the luxury sector is evident not only in our solid financial results, which set new records, but also in the predictability and consistency of results, as well as the delivery of our promises, all factors that help to instill confidence in investors,” he added.
Tokyo closes down 1.3%
The negative moment for the Tokyo Stock Exchange continues. After closing yesterday at their lowest since February, today Japanese shares were dragged by declines in financial stocks and semiconductor stocks linked to fears over chip availability, while uncertainty over Fed policy and tensions in the Middle East weighed on on the rest of the negotiations. The average value of the Nikkei index fell by 1.32% to 37,961.80 points at the close. The broader Topix index lost 1.26% to 2,663.15 points. The yield on 10-year Japanese government bonds rose 2 basis points to 0.885%.
Milan positive with the banks
Positive start to the session for the stock market with the Ftse Mib index marking +0.25% at 33,477 points. Piazza Affari, hesitant in the early stages, is now attempting a minimal recovery after Tuesday’s heavy losses, in a context of European stock markets proceeding in no particular order. Operators are wondering about the geopolitical risks while waiting to understand whether there will be an Israeli response to the Iranian attack. Meanwhile, on the interest rate front, Fed President Powell’s speech yesterday stated that they could remain at high levels for longer than expected in light of the persistence of inflation. Instead, reassurances are coming from the ECB, with President Lagarde, who has confirmed the cuts if there are no new shocks. Banking stocks on the positive list with Bpm +0.9%, Monte Paschi +0.5%, Sondrio +1.5%, the other financial stocks also doing well. Energy sectors are mixed with Eni +0.4%, Enel -0.2%, A2A -0.6%. Tim is uncertain at -0.3%, in industry on Prysmian with +0.7%, Pirelli +0.5%, Saipem +1.4%, luxury is positive with Moncler +0.9%. Earnings for Diasorin (+2.8%).
European stock markets open with little movement
European stock markets open under the banner of uncertainty with stock markets frozen by the Fed which is taking its time cutting rates. Paris records a +0.33% with the Cac 40 at 7,958 points. Frankfurt is down with -0.1% and the Dax at 17,764 points. London is unchanged with the Ftse 100 at 7,820 points.
Shanghai closes on a positive note, with a 3.8% jump for Shenzhen
The Chinese stock markets rebound and eliminate the heavy losses suffered on the eve, despite the surprise leap in the Dragon’s GDP in the first quarter of 2024, which rose by 5.3% instead of the 4.8-5% expected on average by analysts: the Shanghai’s Composite index gains 2.14%, to 3,071.38 points, while that of Shenzhen rises by 3.80%, to 1,700.75.
The spread starts rising at 146 points
The spread opened higher and was at 146 basis points at the start of the day. The Italian ten-year bond has a yield of 3.95%, while the German one has a yield of 2.49%. Yesterday the Btp-Bund Spread closed the day rising at 144 basis points.
Falling prices for oil
Oil prices fell in today’s trading, confirming the slight decline already experienced yesterday. The WTI future marks -0.60% at 84.85 dollars a barrel, while Brent in turn falls below the threshold of 90 dollars, to 89.56, with a decline of 0.46%.
Enav, commissioned in Fiji
Enav, the company that manages civil air traffic in Italy, through its subsidiary Ids Airnav, an international leader in the supply of platforms for the management of aeronautical information, has been awarded a contract worth 720,000 euros with Fiji airports ltd for the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of the cronos platform and the amhs system (aeronautical message handling system), two advanced tools for the management and exchange of aeronautical information. Fiji airports, specifies a note, is responsible for air traffic control on 15 airports on the Fiji islands, including the two international ones of Nadi and Nausori and over an airspace of over 6 million square km.
The dollar remains strong but slows down
The euro remains weak against the dollar in early trading, also due to the words of the president of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell. Powell said yesterday that recent inflation data did not give bankers confidence to ease tightening, pointing out that the Fed may have to keep rates higher for longer than previously thought. The euro thus marks a -0.06% to 1.0610
dollars, and also fell by 0.12% against the yen to 164.06. Dollar/yen down 0.05% to 154.61.
Futures recovering for the EU and Wall Street
Futures recover slightly on the main European stock exchanges after Tuesday’s declines in the indices. The Frankfurt Dax gains 0.08%, the Parisian Cac 40 rises by 0.05%, the London Ftse 100 marks +0.14%. The Euro Stoxx 50 was negative at -0.18%. Futures contract quotes in
rise for the indices of the main US stock exchanges. The future on the Dow Jones gains 0.20%, as does that on the S&P 500. The future on the Nasdaq is even better, rising by 0.26%.
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– 2024-04-17 10:18:23
