by Verità&Affari editorial team
The index rises by half a point
Positive closing for European stock markets, with Piazza Affari ending up by 0.46%, driven by banking stocks. What supports them, in addition to the usual speculative appeal, is the permanent uncertainty about interest rates: even if the markets are betting on a first cut in June, central banks continue to be cautious and study the evolution of inflation. “The current situation is not following standard paths and we believe that prices will fall more slowly than in other cycles in the past,” explained Philip Lane, chief economist of the ECB, speaking at Imperial College Business School in London today. In any case, even the adoption by the Fed and ECB of a less restrictive monetary policy will not lead to a drop in quality in the banks’ results, at least on paper.
Banking risk
The gap created by the declining interest margins “will be filled by commissions and other revenue buffers”, explained the CEO just two days ago. of Unicredit Andrea Orcel, who also opened up the possibility of using part of the excess capital for M&A operations. Another theme that is heating up the stocks of the sector which have benefited from the estimates of the Kbw analysts. In this context, MPS finished at the top of the Ftse Mib up by 4.32%. Purchases also on Unicredit (+2.2%), Banca Generali (1.9%) and Mediolanum (1.99%). Bene Pirelli (+3.7%), while on the opposite front Cucinelli (-7.96%), which gave the numbers yesterday, sinks together with European luxury. Diasorin also did badly (-4.1%), after the 2023 results, and Tim (-0.68%), with the agreement between the competitors Swisscom and Vodafone. On the currency market, the euro trades at 1.0886 dollars (from 1.0887 at the closing the day before). The single currency is also worth 162.27 yen (from 161.33), while the dollar/yen exchange rate is at 149.05 (from 148.11). The price of oil was stable, with the WTI opening at 81.2 dollars a barrel (-0.01%%) and the May Brent at 85.4 (+0.04%). Natural gas in Amsterdam rose by 3.8% to 27.05 euros per megawatt hour. The BTP-Bund Spread stands at 126 basis points.
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