(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – The European Stock Exchanges are still choosing caution, awaiting the decisions of central banks on monetary policy. In fact, both the FOMC, the operational arm of the Federal Reserve, and the ECB’s governing council will meet next week. If the market expects a 25 basis point hike for Frankfurt, the Fed’s moves still appear uncertain: most investors expect a pause in rate hikes, but after the labor market data, price numbers will be crucial for consumption on the calendar next Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Canada it unexpectedly raised the cost of money by 25 basis points, as the Australian central bank had already done, adding a further element of uncertainty on the trend of global monetary policies.
In Milan banks in no particular order, utilities are doing well
In Piazza Affari, the Sts dropped 0.8%, after yesterday’s good performance, triggered by the news that the company has launched a $3.4 billion joint venture in China with Sanan Optoelectronics on silicon carbide devices. The banks are contrasted, with MPS losing 0.58% after the rush of the last few sessions. Eni and Enel are well positioned, both up by 0.8%. Outside the main basket, Lottomatica rises by 2.4% after the ‘Buy’ of Equita.
On the currency side, the euro is worth 11.0791 dollars (yesterday at 1.0705 dollars) and 149.84 yen (149.71), while the dollar/yen cross is at 139.92 (139.85). After yesterday’s jump, the value of gas is stable: it stands at 26.3 euros per megawatt hour (-0.11%). Finally, the price of crude oil remained unchanged: the WTI for July was 72.44 dollars a barrel (-0.12%).
Japan’s GDP upward revision
On the economic front, Japanese GDP was revised upwards in the first quarter, with growth reaching 0.7% on a quarterly basis, according to government data, compared to the 0.4% initially estimated. Non-residential investment growth by private businesses was significantly higher than initially expected, suggesting that Japanese companies remain fairly bullish, despite the expected slowdown in the global economy.
Minus sign for the Tokyo Stock Exchange
The Tokyo Stock Exchange ended trading lower, following a mixed close in US stock indices, especially the debacle in the technology sector. The reference index Nikkei dropped 0.85% to 31,641.27, posting a loss of 272 points. On the foreign exchange market, the yen strengthened against the dollar to 139.70 and 149.60 against the euro. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange opened the session in negative territory: the Hang Seng index dropped 0.13%, slipping to 19,227.84 points. As for the Chinese Stock Exchanges, the opening of the session dropped slightly: the Shanghai Composite index dropped by 0.09%, to 3,194.83 points, while that of Shenzhen lost 0.04% and stood at 1,994, 49.