Directionless day for Piazza Affari. Investors are watching with caution the developments of the Ukrainian crisis with NATO which has warned that it has not seen any signs of de-escalation from its Russian counterpart so far, indeed it has reported an increase in Russian troops on the Ukrainian borders. On the central bank front, the new rise in British inflation increases the pressure for a new rate hike by the Bank of England. Watch the minutes of the last Fed meeting tonight.
From the macro front, good indications from US retail sales, which jumped 3.8% in January (consensus was stable at + 2%). Stronger-than-expected indications provide the Federal Reserve with further leverage for aggressive monetary policy.
The Ftse Mib index thus closed the day with a fractional + 0.005% at 26,969 points after more than + 2% on the eve of the day. Prysmian’s + 3.04% stands out among the stocks to move better, reaching over € 29. Tenaris also did well (+ 2.29%) under the pressure of the rise in energy prices and ENI (+1.03) which today saw the debut in Oslo of the subsidiary Var Energi.
On the other hand, widespread sales on all the banking securities of Piazza Affari (-1.66% Unicredit, -2.17% Intesa, -1.87% Banco BPM) on the day in which the 10-year BTP rate appeared in the area. 2% for the first time since May 2020. The slowdown on the M&A front also influenced the trend of the sector. The latest rumors reported today by Il Messaggero see UniCredit no longer planning an offer on Banco BPM as imminent. According to the Roman daily, a preliminary plan of the bank led by Andrea Orcel envisaged an offer of approximately 4.5 euros per share.