MILAN. Piazza Affari closed the session with losses of 1.1%, in line with the trend of the other European stock exchanges: the Dax of Frankfurt lost 1.7%, the Ibex of Madrid 1.5%, the Cac40 in Paris for 1.3% and the Ftse100 in London for 0.6%. Wall Street is also in red, which shortly after 18:00 marks a decline of 0.93% for the Dow Jones and 1.34% for the Nasdaq.
On bonds, the BTP-Bund spread stood at 226 basis points with the Italian ten-year yield at 4.01%, following Fitch’s decision to cut the forecast for Italy’s GDP. Today the rating agency released a report dedicated specifically to Italy in which it states that political uncertainty and the energy shock could have a negative impact on growth and public finances by putting Italy’s rating under pressure. «The prolonged difficulties in Russian gas supplies are destined to complicate the economic and budgetary agenda of the next government. Political uncertainty and the energy shock could have a negative impact on growth and public finances, putting pressure on the rating, ”the report reads.
Yesterday the rating agency, which assigns Italy a ‘BBB’ rating, with a stable outlook, cut its growth estimates for 2022 to 3% and for 2023 to -0.7%. Growth will pick up in 2024 with a rebound of + 2.6%, according to Fitch.
For the rating agency, the conflict in Ukraine and its repercussions on inflation and growth prospects, coupled with more difficult financing conditions, represent a significant challenge for Rome. “The room for maneuver to improve debt dynamics has shrunk,” the report said.
Uncertainty dominates the lists. Meanwhile, the eyes of the operators are already on the next week with the expected meeting of the Fed, the US Central Bank, in the middle of the week. Investors fear that central banks may continue to tighten monetary policy and put a burden on the economy to combat inflation. The market expects a rate hike from the Fed of 75 basis points but does not rule out a broader hike that could reach as much as 100 basis points.
Meanwhile, on the macro data front, the consumer price index in the euro area in August, according to the final reading, grew by 0.6% on a monthly basis and by 9.1% on an annual basis.
Returning to Piazza Affari, the session was particularly heavy for Tim, which fell by 8.14% to all-time lows. Political uncertainty in view of the vote weighs on the stock but analysts’ downgrades have also affected. Sales also on B.Mps (-5.07%) while Banco Bpm gained 1.08%. On the other hand, Ariston (+ 15.17%) was highlighted on the binding agreement for the acquisition of 100% of the share capital of Centrotec Climate Systems.