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(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – The crisis in the Middle East and fears of US interest rates being elevated for longer than expected are fueling uncertainty and nervousness on the stock markets. European stock markets fell sharply in a session dominated by concerns over Israel’s response to last weekend’s Iranian attack, despite allies calling for calm. Doubts about the next moves of the central banks, in particular those of the Federal Reserve, also remain to weigh on the lists, which pushed the yield on US Treasury securities to the highest levels of 2024, with that of the 10-year bond rising by more than 10 basis points above the 4.6%. In Italy, Istat slightly revised the March inflation figure downwards (+1.2% from a preliminary +1.3%), while in Germany the Zew index beat expectations, rising to 42.9 in April points from 31.7 in March.
In this scenario, the main stock exchanges of the Old Continent are moving downwards: the FTSE MIB of Milan, the CAC 40 of Paris, the DAX 30 of Frankfurt, the IBEX 35 of Madrid, the AEX of Amsterdam and the FT-SE 100 from London.
US futures rise with quarterly reports
Futures point to a higher open on Wall Street. The Dow Jones has returned from six consecutive sessions of decline, which have brought it back to the levels of the beginning of the year. Traders are waiting to understand when and how Israel will react to Iran’s attack, which raises fears of a dangerous widening of the conflict in the Middle East. Data on retail sales in the United States in March (+0.7% compared to the previous month, against expectations for +0.4%) also strengthened analysts’ idea that the Federal Reserve will not start cutting interest rates before July, if not in September or later.
Meanwhile, the quarterly season continues. Bank Of America closed the first 3 months of the year with falling profits, but with the adjusted figure above forecasts, and falling revenues, but above expectations, with an increase in asset management and investment banking commissions , as well as trading revenues. Between January and March, the Charlotte, North Carolina bank reported a profit of 6.7 billion dollars (-18.2%) and revenues down 2% to 25.8 billion, better than the 25.46 billion expected by consensus. Morgan Stanley also beat analysts’ estimates, recording a net profit of 3.4 billion dollars in the first quarter (+14.5%) and revenues of 15.1 billion, compared to 14.5 billion in the first 3 months of 2023. and the estimated 14.41 billion.
The Stock Exchange, the indices of 15 April 2024
Piazza Affari in deep red
On Piazza Affari, in a list colored red, sales penalize above all Stellantis, Finecobank, Stmicroelectronics and Interpump Group. Sales also on Prysmian after the rally on the eve favored by the acquisition of Encor Wire. The banking sector is also heavy with Intesa Sanpaolo, Unicredit and Banca Pop Sondr. Amplifon is in positive territory, followed by A2a and Enel