(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – Caution prevails on European financial markets, with Asia in the red and the dollar under pressure and at two-month lows. The US inflation figure for December, which stood at 7% (the highest level since 1982 and over 6.8% in November), did not scare the markets and confirmed the president’s words to investors. of the Fed Jerome Powell, that is, that the central bank aims to curb the increase in prices without damaging the economy and that every move will be parameterized to the trend of the data and the recovery. Attention now returns to the increase in Covid-19 infections, which weighed above all in the Tokyo session, and to the repercussions on the economy. In China, bank lending figures were particularly disappointing, falling more than expected.
On the Milanese stock, banking stocks will still be followed, starting with Unicredit, after the slide on the eve of the day. Attention also to Diasorin in the pharmaceutical sector after the company announced a new Simplexa molecular test for research use that includes the variants with the Omicron mutation.
Weak dollar, the euro returns to 1.145 on the greenback
US inflation met expectations, although it jumped 7% in December to levels not seen since the early 1980s, and this was enough to push the dollar back to its lows since mid-November. The euro took advantage of this, returning to 1.1453 on the greenback. Dollar also down against the yen around 115.
Tokyo closes sharply, Covid-19 worries again
The Tokyo Stock Exchange closed down, with the Nikkei index marking -0.96% at 28,489 points. The stock market had already opened lower, despite the positive trend on Wall Street on Wednesday 12 January, with Japanese investors worried about the rapid increase in Covid cases. More than 2,000 positive cases were recorded Wednesday in Tokyo, more than five times more than a week earlier, and the Japanese capital is preparing, according to some media, to raise the alert to the second highest level on a scale of four. The Topix index lost 0.68% to 2,005.58 points.