MILANO – 3 pm The truce on the European stock exchanges does not last long. Last night the Fed announced an interest rate hike of 0.75%, the highest since 1994, in an effort to stem the inflation rush, forecast at 5.2% by 2022, and with the GDP estimates drastically cut for the current year to 1.7% from the previous 2.8%. Exchanges in Europe also discount the move by the ECB which announced an intervention to contain spreads. The differential BTP / Bund at mid-day it still shrinks to 210 points, after a momentary return to 220, with the Italian ten-year player first breaking through 4% then returning to 3.9%.
On the front of central banks there is also a move Swiss: in sorrpesa the Swiss central bank has raised the interest rate on deposits on the franc, taking it from -0.75% to -0.25%, the first intervention in 15 years now. And it continues its rate hike path there Bank of England which decided an additional cost of borrowing in the UK from 1% to 1.25%. Widely expected decision that is being explained once again as a measure to counter the record rise in inflation in Great Britain.
ECB, a step in the right direction but now the markets want more. And the Fed-firefighter is betting everything on stopping inflation
While there are no shocks on the government bond front, the trend of the stock markets is different, with Europe becoming heavier in the course of the morning. Milano loses 2.45%, Paris drops by 1.78% Frankfurt records a decrease of 2.46% e London moves back by 2.56%. Futures on Wall Street worsen, as recession fears over Fed action against inflation take over. Worse than expected, the data arrived from the requests for unemployment benefits, which dropped by 3,000 to 229,000, with analysts betting instead on 220,000.
In no particular order, the Asian lists, with Shanghai positive and Hong Kong down. Tokyo on the other hand, it closed with a rise of 0.4%.
Breath of oxygen for cryptocurrencies. After the vertical fall of the last few days, with the Bitcoin having reached a step from the psychological threshold of 20 thousand dollars, today the main digital currency records slight increases and is positioned above 22 thousand.
Among commodities, oil prices rebound in Asia. Brent futures rose 0.46% to $ 119.03 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures advanced to $ 116.06 a barrel, up 0.65%. Gas increases continue after Gazprom’s decision to reduce supplies to Germany and Italy. In Amsterdam, the reference market for Europe, methane shares 126 euros per megawatt hour in early trade, up by 5% compared to yesterday’s closing. The price of gold is stable: the metal is trading at 1,833 dollars an ounce, stable compared to the gain of 1.4% made on the eve