Weak day for European stock markets, the day after the Fed meeting and after the Eurozone inflation data. At Piazza Affari, the Ftse Mib ended down 0.2% at 30,689 points, with Ferrari at the top (+9.2%) after the fourth quarter accounts and the better-than-expected guidance. Interpump also performed well (+2.7%), while Mps (-3.4%), Hera (-3.2%) and A2a (-1.8%) fell behind.
Eurozone consumer prices slowed less than expected (2.8% and core data at 3.3%), reinforcing the ECB’s cautious rhetoric on the decline in inflation. In Italy, the harmonized index of consumer prices went from 0.5% to 0.9% on an annual basis, more than the estimated 0.8%.
In the US, weekly unemployment claims rise above expectations, while the ISM manufacturing index improves to 49.1 points but remains in the contraction zone in January. Tonight the spotlight will be on the quarterly reports of Apple, Amazon and Meta, awaiting tomorrow’s data on the labor market (nonfarm payrolls, unemployment and average hourly wages).
Yesterday, the US central bank kept interest rates stable for the fourth consecutive meeting and signaled an openness to cutting them, even as Chairman Jerome Powell dampened investors’ hopes that cuts would begin in March.
In the United Kingdom, the BoE kept rates unchanged but signaled progress in containing inflation.
On bonds, the BTP-Bund spread stands at around 157 bp, with the yield on the Italian 10-year bond at 3.7% and that of the Bund at 2.13%, while the 10-year US Treasury is trading down at 3.83% .
Among raw materials, Brent oil is trading close to 81 dollars a barrel following the news that the United States has approved attack plans in Iraq and Syria.
On Forex, the euro/dollar exchange rate recovered to 1.084 and the dollar/yen fell to 146.