(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – The markets seem to be archiving the tension triggered in the last two weeks by the appearance of the Omicron variant. After the setback of the eve, the European stock exchanges remain however and focus on macroeconomic data. In addition to the data on the new weekly requests for unemployment benefits in the US, eyes are on US inflation in November, which will arrive on Friday 10 December. Investors expect it to rise to 6.7% from 6.2% in October.
From these data, investors are waiting for indications to try to intercept any decisions that the Federal Reserve it will take place on December 15, when the next board of directors will end. On the table there is the possibility of an acceleration – from 15 to 30 billion per month – of the reduction of monetary stimuli, the so-called tapering. The sooner the stimulus is cleared, the sooner the Fed can clear the way for an upcoming rate hike.
Meanwhile, the data on the trade balance arrived from Germany: the October surplus was 12.5 billion euros, below expectations but exports started up again, + 4.1% compared to September after two months of dips. Again with regard to the Germany, the new government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz took office.
On the pandemic front, they appeared reassuring the indications that Pfizer and BioNtech’s vaccine against the coronavirus would be “still effective” after “three doses” also against Omicron. However, the two companies have announced that they intend to prepare a specific vaccine for the variant, which could be ready by March.
Btp / Bund spreads drop to 132 basis points, yield 1.01%
The spread between BTp and Bund on the MTS telematic market moved slightly down, which in the session of 8 December recorded strong progress in the yields of all ten-year bonds in the Eurozone. The differential between the benchmark ten-year BTp and the German bond of the same duration is in the area of 132 basis points, two less than at the previous closing. Above the 1% threshold is confirmed the yield of the ten-year bankmark BTp, indicated at 1.01%, compared to 1.03% of the last reference.