(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – Sales on European equity markets prevail, after the positive session on the eve of the eve without the compass of Wall Street. Sales on technology stocks under pressure as US Treasury yields rise, with investors bracing for a rate hike by the Fed already in March. The eyes are also on overseas because the quarterly reports of some big names in the financial sector such as Goldman Sachs are scheduled. Meanwhile, they hold oil stocks with oil at their highest for over seven years, while the euro has lost the threshold of 1.14 dollars.
A US rate hike in March would not be a surprise
As early as September, the interest rate markets «began to revise very rapidly expectations on the Fed’s bullish cycle», As Luigi Nardella of Ceresio Investors recalls. The rate on US Treasury bonds with a two-year maturity went from 0.2% (“actually a hike in 2023”) to over 1.0% (“four hikes in both 2022 and 2023”). The stock market, Nardella notes, «reacted with a violent rotation; strong correction of hyper-growth stocks more sensitive to rates and significant increases in the most cyclical securities – banks and energy. An increase already in March – he concludes – would no longer be a surprise ».
Only the energy sources hold, in Milan generalized sales
On the Milanese FTSE MIB, sales on all sectors, starting with financials, led downwards by Banca Generali with Banca Bpm worst among banking. Luxury is also weak with Moncler. Meanwhile, they only hold Saipem, Eni and Tenaris. SubtonoAtlantia but better than the benchmark index, after the acquisition in Germany
Tokyo down, Bank of Japan cuts growth estimates
The Tokyo stock exchange fell, in line with the rest of the Asian stock exchanges. The Nikkei closed the session down by 0.27%, after the Bank of Japan which revised its GDP growth estimates for the financial year 2021/2022 in progress downwards (+ 2.8% compared to 3 , 4% previously), upwards for the next 2022/23 (+ 3.8% from 2.9%) and again downwards for 2023/24 to + 1.1% from + 1.3%.