Closing in the red for Europe, while Wall Street continues to retreat in the aftermath of the Fed. On Piazza Affari, the Ftse Mib lost 1.8% and ended at 28,708 points, with sales in particular on Recordati (-5.3 %), Hera (-4.8%) and Ferrari (-4.7%). Bucking the trend were Unicredit (+2.45%), also supported yesterday by the buyback announcement and the words of CEO Orcel, and Banco Bpm (+1.6%).
President Powell’s restrictive tone and the projections of US central bank officials fuel the prospect of higher rates, with a further increase this year, for longer, with a lower probability of cuts in 2024.
Today the Bank of England kept the cost of money unchanged at 5.25% and there is a feeling among analysts that the restrictive cycle may be over, barring any negative surprises from the data. Tomorrow, however, it will be the Bank of Japan’s turn.
From the macro agenda came the weekly data on requests for unemployment benefits in the USA, decreasing to 201 thousand, and consumer confidence in the Eurozone, decreasing to -17.8 points. The US super index recorded its seventeenth consecutive decline.
Among raw materials, oil is regaining its share, with Brent back at 94 dollars a barrel, after Russia’s ban on fuel exports. On Forex, the euro/dollar stands at 1.066 while the pound slips to 1.23 dollars. In the bond sector, the BTP-Bund spread widened to 180 basis points, with the Italian ten-year bond rising to 4.54%.