(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – After an uncertain opening, European stock exchanges took the path of the upside, in the wake of Monday’s performance, when Wall Street also gained ground with the S&P 500 (+ 1.38%) which recorded its 69th record close of 2021. Thus, the FTSE MIB in Milan, which aims to improve the record of 2021 (27,868 points, reached on November 15), the CAC 40 in Paris, the DAX 40 in Frankfurt, the IBEX 35 in Madrid and the AEX in Amsterdam. London closed for bank holiday. The Asian stock markets are all up.
The Omicron variant is less scary: according to JP Morgan it will not have a significant impact on economic growth and on the contrary it could accelerate the end of the pandemic. After all, in the countries where it is more widespread such as Great Britain and the United States, although infections have increased, hospitalizations or deaths have not increased to the same extent. That said, they have been in various countries new restrictions introduced: the latest in chronological order is France, which introduced the super green pass and reduced the time needed to receive the third dose of vaccine (from 4 to 3 months after the second dose).
In Piazza Affari good utilities and oil
In Piazza Affari there are small cabotage operations in view of the end of the year. Utilities did well, with Hera and A2a in the front row, and oil companies, with Saipem among the best in the Ftse Mib. Banks will be kept in sight after the hike in interest rates on the eve of the day. Banks are positive with Intesa Sanpaolo showing a good rise. The run of CNH Industrial continues, while the countdown has started for the spin off of Iveco, effective from the beginning of 2022 and for the listing of Ivg, set for January 3.
Less pressure on the gas
Gas prices are also in the sights, which collapsed to 100 euros / megawatt hour in Amsterdam (from peaks almost to double) with the arrival of US LNG carriers, which are relieving pressure on supply shortages and have been diverted from Asia. for the advantage offered by the skyrocketing sales prices on the European market.
Spread is confirmed above 140 points
There is caution on bonds as inflation continues to rise, which is putting a strain on the accommodative stance of central banks. Furthermore, the tensions on the markets due to the spread of the Omicron variant continue to be felt also on European fixed income.
The spread between the 10-year benchmark BTp and the German Bund is moving slightly higher. The yield differential between the ten-year Italian benchmark (IT0005436693) and the same German maturity is indicated at 143 basis points from the 141 points of the previous final (on the eve of the spread reached 145 points, the maximum since September 2020). The yield of the Italian 10-year rises to 1.15% from 1.13% of the last reference.