(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – In the aftermath of a session that lost momentum towards the end, the European stock exchanges are trying to end the week on positive notes, amid the hope of an imminent agreement on raising the American debt ceiling and while all eyes remain focused on the trend inflation (the latest data indicate that in Germany it recorded +0.3% on the month and +4.1% on the year). In the background, attention remains high for the next moves of the central banks: the ECB is moving towards further hikes (Vice-President Luis de Guindos said that there will still be more, even if “most of the road has been covered”), while the The Federal Reserve may be taking a breather, although St. Louis Fed chairman James Bullard has called other hikes “insurance against inflation.”
Thus, in the wake of the session of increases for the Asian markets (Tokyo, +0.9%, it is at its highest level since 1990), the indices of the Old Continent begin the session on the rise. The FTSE MIB climbs, pending Moody’s decisions on Italy’s rating, arriving late in the evening. The CAC 40 of Paris, the DAX 40 of Frankfurt, the IBEX 35 of Madrid, the AEX of Amsterdam and the FT-SE 100 of London also performed well. Attention also to the geopolitical front, on the first day of the G7 meeting in Hiroshima, in which the premier Giorgia Meloni participates and where, surprisingly, the Ukrainian president Volodymir Zelensky also arrived.
Utilities are doing well, banks are weak. Eyes on Tim
As far as stocks are concerned, there are not very marked movements on the Ftse Mib: among the best is A2a, which rebounds after the declines of the previous three sessions in the wake of the good performance of the utility sector (positive in Milan Hera, Terna, Snam Rete Gas). Diasorin and Cnh Industrial also top the main list. Spotlight on Telecom Italia, while, according to press rumors, F2i is evaluating the NetCo dossier to potentially take part in the consortium formed by Cdp and Macquarie. The banks are in line, with Banca Pop Er, Unicredit and Banco Bpm scoring the worst performances.
Spread up towards 190 points, ten-year yield up
Negative trend for government bonds traded on the Mts electronic secondary market. Prices are declining with the consequent rise in yields. Italian 10-year bonds are losing ground to a greater extent than Bunds, with the result that the spread widens again. The yield differential between the 10-year benchmark BTP (Isin IT0005518128) and the same German maturity is indicated at 188 points from the 186 basis points of Thursday’s closing. The yield on the Italian 10-year bond rises to 4.32% from 4.30% on the previous day (Wednesday it was at 4.18%). The market is also monitoring Greek government bonds, with the 10-year GGB yielding 4.01%, with a spread with Bunds of the same duration therefore of 156 basis points, in the week leading up to the political elections in the country for the renewal of the parliament scheduled for next Sunday. In Greece, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ conservative New Democracy party holds a majority of 158 seats out of a total of 300.
Dollar at 2-month top, oil and gas prices rise
In terms of currency, the dollar moved to a two-month high and the euro weakened further and stood at 1.0788 dollars (1.0829 at yesterday’s close) and changed hands at 148.932 yen (from 148.31). The dollar/yen exchange rate is at 138.06. After the declines on the eve of the day, oil is on the rise: June WTI futures rise by 0.83% to 72.46 dollars a barrel, those of July Brent by 1.12% to 76.72 dollars. The prices of gas traded in Amsterdam, which yesterday fell below 30 euros for the first time since June 2021, after having scored a first position at 30 dollars per megawatt hour, rise by 1.5% to 30.25 euros.