(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – The European stock exchanges begin with caution in April after the closing in “red” of the first quarter of the year (it had not happened since 2020) due to the rush of inflation and the geopolitical upheavals linked to the Russian invasion of ‘Ukraine. Investors continue to assess the economic growth prospects in light of the conflict, with peace negotiations appearing to find no way out, as well as the impact of the recent drop in oil prices, which are starting to close the week with the more consistent decline for almost two years. The US administration’s decision to draw on strategic reserves therefore seems effective in at least partially deflating energy price increases, while the cost of natural gas continues to rise in the light of the tug-of-war with Moscow over payment in rubles. in Amsterdam they jumped to 132 euros per MWh, up by 4.8%). In Milan there was a prudent trend for the FTSE MIB index, as well as on the lists of Paris (CAC 40), Frankfurt (DAX 30), London (FT-SE 100) and Madrid (IBEX 35).
Beyond the events surrounding the conflict in Ukraine, attention is still captured by the surge in inflation. After the data of the individual European countries (yesterday + 6.7% for consumer prices in Italy) in the next few hours it will be the turn of the index relating to the Eurozone for the month of March. Expectations are growth of 6.8%, but an even higher figure that could put further pressure on the European Central Bank could not be ruled out. On the macro front, data on SME indices for the manufacturing sector of the euro area, Italy, Spain, France and Germany in March, Italian data on non-EU foreign trade in February and above all the figures on the US labor market in March are also expected. . Finally, in the evening, Moody’s ruled on Italy’s sovereign rating.
In Germany the Ifo index worsens due to material shortages
The shortage of materials for German manufacturing companies worsened last month. In fact, in March, according to an estimate by the Ifo institute, 80.2% of companies complained of bottlenecks and problems in the procurement of intermediate products and raw materials. In February, the percentage was lower (74.6%). “The attack on Ukraine has worsened the situation for many companies,” said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of investigations at the IFO. Supply chains now have new problems to address in addition to existing ones. For example, 17% of German industrial companies import from Russia ».
Tokyo closes lower on Wall Street (-0.5% Nikkei)
Session down for the Tokyo Stock Exchange at the end of a day characterized by early sales, in the wake of the falls in the Wall Street indices. The decline in the Tankan index of the Bank of Japan, released before the start of trading, did not improve the mood of investors who read the decline in confidence in the country’s large companies as a possible early signal of a contraction in GDP in the first quarter, just as the Japanese government is working on a new public support plan to counter the impact of energy prices on businesses and households. The Nikkei index of 225 leading stocks therefore closed at 27,665 points, down 0.56%. The stocks of the electronics sector are bad. Toshiba goes against the trend due to press rumors of a possible purchase offer by the US Bain Capital after Toshiba shareholders rejected the proposed demerger of the conglomerate into two companies.
For European price lists I trim in “red” after two years
On March 31, the European stock markets ended up closing down in what was the last session of a particularly eventful quarter and which ends with a negative balance for the first time in two years. In Piazza Affari, the Ftse Mib closed down by 1.1%, Frankfurt at -1.2% and Paris at -1.3%. The price lists were mainly driven by the tug-of-war implemented by Moscow over the payment of Russian gas in rubles by foreign buyers. Wall Street also moved lower, helping to accentuate tensions also on European equities.