A day full of purchases for European stock markets, also supported by the positive trend on Wall Street after Nvidia’s accounts. On Piazza Affari, the Ftse Mib ended up 1.1% at 32,356 points, with Tenaris (+7.3%) in the spotlight after results above expectations. Banco Bpm (+4.1%), Amplifon (+3.3%) and STM (+3.1%) also performed well. Utilities Italgas (-1.9%), Terna (-1.9%) and Snam (-1.2%) fell.
The preliminary PMI indices for February in the eurozone were released during the day, signaling a recovery in services, while manufacturing activity remains held back by the weakness of Germany. Furthermore, the ECB minutes highlighted a “broad consensus among members that it was premature to discuss rate cuts”.
Tomorrow the focus will be on the survey on 1-3 year inflation expectations and a speech by Isabel Schnabel, member of the Eurotower Governing Council.
Yesterday the Fed’s minutes also confirmed a cautious approach, with the central bank always “very attentive” to the risks of inflation.
In the afternoon, weekly jobless claims data showed a decline to 201,000, lower than estimates, signaling continued strength in the US labor market, while existing home sales rose 3.1% in January, higher of expectations. The US manufacturing and services PMIs stood at 51.5 and 51.3 points respectively.
On bonds, the BTP-Bund spread narrows slightly to 147 bp, with the yield on the Italian 10-year bond at 3.9% and that of the Bund at 2.43%.
Among raw materials, Brent oil remains above 83 dollars a barrel, after the increase in US inventories revealed by EIA data.
On Forex the euro/dollar exchange rate fluctuates in the 1.082 area and the dollar/yen rises to 150.5 yen per dollar.