Piazza Affari closes just above parity, at the end of a volatile session that opened with a decline. The Ftse Mib ends up 0.12% at 33,922.16 points, with Terna (+2.2%), Diasorin (+1.8%), Finecobank (+1.4%) and Enel (+1, 4%) at the top. Saipem (-2.1%) and STM (-2.3%), on the other hand, fell behind the main list.
In the morning, the news of an Israeli attack on Iran triggered purchases on oil, the dollar and Treasury, but the Tehran media threw water on the fire, diluting the climate of risk aversion on the markets.
A whirlwind week for stocks ends, with the S&P 500 at the 5,000 point test and close to its sixth consecutive decline, the worst streak since October 2022.
Tensions in the Middle East remained at the forefront, after last weekend’s escalation, while the quarterly reports in the USA provided chiaroscuro indications. Today Netflix is retreating despite the positive results of the first quarter, thanks to the decision to no longer systematically communicate data on subscribers and average revenues per user from 2025.
On the monetary policy front, the Fed seems increasingly less inclined to cut rates in the short term due to the limited progress on the inflation front, as confirmed today by Chicago member Goolsbee. From the ECB, however, there are continuous signs of openness to a reduction in financing costs in June.
From the macro agenda only data on German producer prices arrived, higher than expected (+0.2% m/m and -2.9% y/y in March) and Japanese inflation, below expectations estimates (2.7% per year).
Next week will see the release of preliminary April PMIs in Europe and the US on Tuesday, as well as the first reading of US first-quarter GDP on Thursday and March core PCE on Friday. As for corporate results, focus on the Alphabet and Microsoft accounts due out on Thursday with the markets closed.
Piazza Affari is preparing for the first important event of the year in terms of dividends. On Monday 22 April 8 big names of the Ftse Mib will be preparing to detach the coupon, including UniCredit and Banco Bpm.
On bonds, Treasury yields have realigned after an initial decline, with the ten-year at 4.6% and the two-year at 4.97%. The BTP-Bund spread has changed little at 142 basis points, with the Italian ten-year bond at 3.93% and the Bund at 2.51%, awaiting S&P’s judgment on Italy’s rating.
Among raw materials, Brent oil is trading around $87.5 per barrel after this morning’s surge above $90 and gold remains above $2,390 per ounce. On Forex, the euro/dollar exchange rate trades at 1.067 and the dollar/yen stands at 154.6.