(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – The European Stock Exchanges are moving with lead feet in the aftermath of the ECB’s decision to raise the cost of money by 25 basis points. The president of the Eurotower, Christine Lagarde, also announced a new tweak in July, while the Bank of Japan confirmed the ultra-accommodative monetary policy. The volatility caused by the so-called “four witches”, the maturities of futures and options on stocks and indices for 4,200 billion dollars globally, also affected the performance of the session. In Piazza Affari, the FTSE MIB moves around parity.
Among the main Milanese stocks, Italgas is trying to recover ground the day after the presentation of the new strategic plan and after the roadshow with investors has begun. A2a increased after yesterday the company announced that the board of directors authorized the issue, by 30 April 2026, of one or more unsubordinated, unsecured and non-convertible bond loans up to a total maximum of 1.65 billion. The multi-utility has also renounced the Egea dossier, on which Iren has instead presented a non-binding offer. Little Generali move, that bought the Spanish company Liberty Seguros from Liberty Mutual for 2.3 billion.
Spread down to 161 points, the yen weak
On bonds, the spread between BTp and Bund is slightly down after the ECB’s decision to raise rates in the Eurozone, paving the way for further increases in the coming months. The yield differential between the 10-year benchmark BTP and the same German maturity is indicated at 161 basis points from 163 basis points on the previous day. The yield of the 10-year benchmark BTP increased to 4.15% from 4.13% at the previous closing.
In the currency market, the policy gap on both sides of the Atlantic in light of the pause in the Fed’s tightening cycle continues to support the euro, which is worth $1.0950 from $1.0949 by Thursday’s close. Weak yen after the BoJ decision, the Japanese currency stands at 154.46 to the euro (from 153.35) and 141.07 to the dollar (140.57). The price of oil is just above parity: the August contract on the Wti rises by 0.16% to 70.92 dollars a barrel, while the Brent future with the same maturity marks +0.08% to 75.73 dollars. The price of natural gas in Amsterdam reverses course: the future for July drops 11.2% to 36.6 euros per megawatt hour.
Tokyo at new highs in 33 years after the BoJ
In Japan, meanwhile, the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed at a new high for 33 years after the confirmation of the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy. The resulting decline in the yen in fact supported the securities of the main exporters. The benchmark Nikkei index gained 0.66% to 33,706.08 points.