Colorless closing for European stock markets on the day of American data on the labor market. In Piazza Affari, the Ftse Mib ended little changed (+0.1%) at 30,717 points, with Stellantis (+2.3%), Telecom Italia (+2.2%) and Mps (+2.1%) in light , while profit-taking starts on Ferrari (-1.7%). Oil companies Saipem (-1.7%) and Eni (-1.4%) lost ground.
US nonfarm payrolls showed a significantly higher-than-expected increase (353,000), the unemployment rate remained stable at 3.7% and the annual growth of average hourly wages accelerated to 4.5%.
Numbers that strengthen the prospect of a still restrictive Fed and further reduce hopes of a rate cut as early as March, the probability of which has fallen to a modest 20%.
In the next few days, several representatives of the American central bank, including President Powell, and of the ECB will speak. From the macro agenda, the ISM services in the US and Chinese data on inflation are arriving, before the Lunar New Year holidays. Focus also on the European quarterly reports, with the accounts of the main Italian banks on Piazza Affari.
Bond yields rising sharply, with a movement that extended from the USA to Europe after the data on the US labor market. The BTP-Bund spread stands at 157 bp, with the yield on the Italian 10-year bond increasing to 3.8% and that of the Bund to 2.23%, while the 10-year US Treasury has exceeded 4%.
Among raw materials, Brent oil falls further to 77 dollars a barrel, set to close its worst week since October, while ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas reduce the prospect of a geopolitical risk for supplies from the Middle East .
On Forex, the euro/dollar exchange rate fell below 1.08 and the dollar/yen above 148, with the greenback strengthening after the job report.