Milan Stock Exchange without momentum. The oil companies are at the forefront

Today Lagarde speaks

Opening at a small trot. Index around parity while awaiting Christine Lagarde’s testimony to the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, from which important indications may emerge on the ECB’s next moves, oil stocks end up in the spotlight: during the OPEC+ meeting over the weekend, very heated according to what was reported by the participants, Saudi Arabia said it was ready to cut production by an additional million barrels per day, with the aim of “doing everything necessary to stabilize the market” (+2.1% at 73.26 dollars a barrel for WTI expiring in July and +2% at 77.62 dollars for Brent in August). In addition, the enlarged cartel reached an agreement to extend the production cuts to 2024, setting the new oil production target for next year at 40.46 million barrels per day.

So Milan, after a start just above parity, scores -0.18%, however confirming itself above the threshold of 27,000 points hung up on Friday, Paris -0.1%, Frankfurt +0.19%, London +0.57%, Madrid +0.16% and Amsterdam +0.28%, pending the PMI services data, useful for assessing the resilience of the Old Continent’s economy. As far as stocks are concerned, in Piazza Affari it is precisely the oil companies that immediately take the top of the Ftse Mib (Saipem +1.9%, Tenaris +1.54%, Eni +1%), while Moncler (-1 .37%) and utilities (Hera -1%, Italgas -0.45%, A2a -0.44%). In the spotlight Pirelli (-0.59%), after the press rumors circulated over the weekend, according to which the Italian management would be at risk due to interference by the Chinese shareholder Sinochem and the Government would evaluate recourse to the Golden Power.

On the currency side, the euro returned below 1.07 dollars and changed hands to 1.068 (from 1.076 on Friday). The euro/yen is at 149.984 and the dollar/yen at 140.26. Gas futures traded in Amsterdam, after gaining 6% at the start at 25.2 euros per megawatt hour, are now up 3.44% to 24.05 euros while Ukraine’s counter-offensive against the Russia. Finally, the spread returns above 170 points and opens at 174 points, from 166 on Friday, with the 10-year yield returning above 4% to 4.11% (from the previous 3.97%).

PMI index down

In May, the growth of the services sector in Italy slowed down, remaining however high, thanks to the acquisition of new orders. The pressure on operational capacity remains evident, as companies have continued to hire more staff, and confidence in the future has remained in positive territory. However, the growth rate of activity and new orders has weakened compared to April, and cost inflation continues to indicate stubbornly high values. Last month, the Hcob PMI services index stood at 54 points, marking a slowdown compared to 57.6 in April and falling to the minimum value in the last three months. Nonetheless, the index has recorded continuous growth since the beginning of 2023 and has shown a sharp rise in activity compared to April. The composite PMI, which includes both manufacturing and services, went from 55.3 in April to 52 in May.