MILANO – 10.50 am. The European stock exchanges restart slightly higher with the attention of investors focused today on the Fed. From the president of the American central bank Jerome Powell, who will speak tonight at the end of the two-day meeting of the monetary policy committee, no major decisions are expected but reassurance is still expected on the intention to keep the accommodative policies in place. Milan is the only negative among the main European financial centers and is down 0.25%. The others are up: London salt of 0.19%, Frankfurt 0.14% e Paris 0.19%. At Piazza Affari collapses Saipem, after the declining accounts released yesterday and the halt to a project in Mozambique which currently does not allow to confirm the forecasts on the accounts presented in February.
In Asia it is positive Tokyo, supported by the weakening of the yen which benefits exports and by the positive results of the quarterly reports of the technology sector, with the Nikkei ending the session at + 0.21%.
After a blaze in the start it spread it is stable not far from yesterday’s levels. The spread is positioned at 107 points, from 108 yesterday, with the yield of the ten-year bond at 0.84%. Among the currencies, awaiting Powell’s words, the dollar strengthens slightly: the euro / dollar exchange rate, which reached 1.21, returns to 1.2065 (1.2077 yesterday), the dollar / yen returns close to 109.
Among the macroeconomic data, German consumer confidence drops by surprise in May, due to the pandemic and the restrictions on purchases. The GSK Index fell by 8.8 points from -6.1 in April, against a more contained -3.5 expected by analysts. “Hopes for further easing of restrictions and a revival of consumption have eased considerably,” comments GfK research manager Rolf Buerkl, adding that the recovery of the economy will continue to delay due to the third wave of Covid-19.
Petroleum up on the markets, after OPEC + decided to keep the production policy established at the beginning of April unchanged and consequently decided to postpone the ministerial meeting scheduled for tomorrow to June 1st. The WTI with delivery in June rises above 63 dollars a barrel, gaining 0.3% (to 63.23 dollars a barrel), after yesterday marking a rise of 1.7%. Brent for June delivery gains 0.3% to $ 66.62.
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