(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – European stock exchanges react well to the decisions of the Fed and to the words of Jerome Powell. “Our decision to start tapering has no implications for future interest rate decisions”: the Fed chairman said what the stock exchanges wanted to hear, the fact that the Fed has initiated the reduction of exceptional stimuli launched during the pandemic (the purchase of government bonds and mortgage-bonds for 120 billion a month) does not mean that it is also preparing the future rate hike. With Wall Street on new records, the financial markets of the Old Continent also celebrate.
The post-Fed
The US central bank has announced exactly what the market was expecting: the tapering , that is the gradual reduction (15 billion per month) of the purchases of securities. But it also sent out at least three dovish messages to the markets. One: tapering will be flexible and it could be blocked if the economy worsens or if conditions also change on the pandemic front. Two: l‘inflation it is still considered ‘temporary’, although its upside will last longer than previously anticipated. On this Powell used words similar to those pronounced on Thursday, October 28 by ECB President Christine Lagarde. Three: tapering is not necessarily the antechamber of rate hikes in 2022. Currently the market is discounting two-three, starting from July 2022. We will see if these expectations are reduced in the coming days.
Quarterly in the spotlight at Piazza Affari
On the corporate front, the third quarter accounts of listed companies are also looked at in Piazza Affari. Corre Tenaris which closed the third quarter with a profit of 326 million dollars and revenues up 73%, beyond estimates. Snam Rete Gas closed the first 9 months of the year with revenues of 2.33 billion (+ 15%) and a net profit of 938 million (+ 7%), the board also approved the interim dividend 2021 of 0.1048 per share. Many big names in Piazza Affari present their accounts to the market. Among these: Banca Generali, Cnh Industrial, Banca Mps, Enel, Inwit, Maire Tecnimont.
Tokyo up (Nikkei + 0.9%) with new Wall Street records
The Tokyo stock exchange closed higher on the wake of the new records set on Wall Street on the eve and in a positive context for the Asian stock exchanges while the publication of the quarterly reports continues. The Nikkei index was up 0.93% and the broader Topix index posted + 1.18%. Among the titles, the global auto giant stood out Toyota (+ 0.73%) which, before the close of the markets, published the results for the second quarter of the 2021/2022 financial year and raised the guidance for net profit and operating profit thanks to the weakening of the yen against the euro and the dollar.
The opposite sign for the group active in the video game sector Nintendo (-1.66%), which closed the first half of the 2021/2022 financial year with a net profit of 171.8 billion yen (1.3 billion euros), a decrease of 19.4% compared to the same period of a year ago. The group active in the video game sector expects to close the full year with a net profit of 350 billion yen (2.6 billion euros), which represents a decline of 27% on an annual basis, compared to 340 billion of the previous year. guidance.