Mostly negative closure for the European stock exchanges, while Wall Street travels with little movement in the aftermath of the worst session since the beginning of the year and awaiting the minutes of the Fed.
The Ftse Mib closes trading with a drop of 1.1% to 27,101 points, at the end of the main continental lists, held back above all by Finecobank (-4.8%), Bper (-4.4%), Tenaris (- 3.1%) and Intesa Sanpaolo (-3%).
Going against the trend is Telecom Italia (+2.8%), after KKR asked for the extension of the offer deadline for the network to 24 March. Among the best also Stellantis (+2.2%) which achieved a record profit in 2022 and announced a dividend of 1.34 euros per share, as well as a buyback plan for 1.5 billion. The company also approved the distribution of a €2 billion employee bonus. Interpump (+1.7%) and Amplifon (+1.6%) performed well.
During the day, Istat released the data on inflation for January, which showed a marked slowdown from 11.6% to 10% (10.1% the first reading). The harmonized figure stands at 10.7% (+12.3% in December, +10.9% the preliminary estimate).
In the bond sector, the Btp-Bund spread remains in the 193 basis point area with the yield on the Italian ten-year bond at 4.45% after the surge in the previous session. During the day, the Treasury placed 5.25 billion in 2- and 10-year bonds, with rising yields.
On Forex, the euro/dollar exchange rate fell slightly to 1.063 while among raw materials, oil fell, with Brent at 81.2 dollars a barrel, due to the strengthening of the dollar and fears of weaker demand due to a tighter monetary policy.
Little move, meanwhile, Wall Street awaiting the minutes relating to the last meeting of the Federal Reserve. Solid data in recent days and hawkish statements by some central bank officials have prompted investors to revise their expectations for the peak in rates upwards.
Finally, the president of the Fed Bank of St. Louis, James Bullard, underlined that the US economy is proving to be more resilient than expected, justifying a rate hike up to 5.375%. Some members also opened to a return to tightening above the 25 basis points of the last tweak, if needed to curb prices.
The minutes due out tonight will help clarify how much more money can go up and how long it can remain at restrictive levels.