MILANO – 1:30 pm. European stock exchanges are moving in contrast: with an eye always focused on the vaccination campaign, investors register the US stop at Johnson & Johnson doses and await the US inflation data for the month of April, while gaining confidence from German companies (measured with the Zew index) below expectations.
Milan lima the rise and, in the middle of the day, goes up to + 0.2%: eyes on Saipem which has extended a contract with Qatargas for 350 million, while Diasorin registers some grip after yesterday’s jump following shopping in the US. The others are cautious: Paris salt by 0.2%, London is down by 0.1% while Frankfurt salt by 0.1%.
In no particular order, the Asian lists also moved, with the Chinese export figure, which, although up by 30.6% compared to last year, in March was below analysts’ expectations. Overall, the trade surplus stood at 13.8 billion dollars compared to the expected 52.05. While Shanghai lost 0.5% e Shenzhen lo 0.06%, Tokyo it filed trading higher at + 0.72%. Weak futures up Wall Street, while the Treasury yield has returned to rise towards 1.7% pending price data.
On the currency front, the exchange euro Dollar, with the European currency trading at $ 1,898. “The euro opened the week in the same range as Friday between 1.18 and 1.19 euro / dollar, but rose yesterday at the intraday level, moving mostly by reflex to the dollar”, highlights the economist of Intesa Sanpaolo, Asmara Jamaleh, in the ‘Forex Flash’ underlining that “the possible further rise today on the expected improvement of the German Zew and above all on the rise in US inflation should be temporary and limited (upside within 1.19-1.20 euro / dollar)”.
It goes up spread: the yield differential between BTP and Bund marks 106 points with the Italian ten-year yield equal to 0.78%. And the Treasury is also dealing with the rise in yields: today it placed all 7.75 billion euros of 3, 10 and 15-year BTPs offered in auction with rising rates. The yield on the three-year bond (maturity April 2024) rose to -0.17% from -0.22% on the March placement, that of the ten-year bond (June 2026, with a residual maturity of five years) rose to 0.12% from 0.05% in March. The 15-year BTP rate (March 2037) is up to 1.26% from 1.05% in the November auction. Total demand reached 11.177 billion.
Among the macroeconomic data of the day, as mentioned the Zew index which measures the expectations of German companies has disappointed the forecasts: in April it stood at 70.7 against 76.6 in March, disappointing market expectations equal to 79 points. In Italy, Istat has disseminated the update on the industrial production in February (with a monthly growth of 0.2%) and the monthly note on the performance of the economy. In Great Britain Finally, the growth of 0.4% of GDP in February was recorded, on which the lockdown still weighed, with positive signs however from + 1% of industrial production: above expectations.
The increase in Chinese imports, on the other hand, is good for the prices of Petroleum, which date back to the prospect of an increase in demand. Tensions in the Middle East also affected price rises, after the Houthi rebels said they had fired two missiles at Saudi Aramco plants in Saudi Arabia, although the information has not been confirmed. WTI futures gained 0.32% to $ 59.89 a barrel, while Brent futures rose 0.30% to $ 63.47. Gold fell slightly, the immediate delivery metal lost 0.31% to $ 1727 an ounce.
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