MILANO – The energy crisis and the geopolitical risks linked to the war sow uncertainty on the markets in the last session of the week. In Prague, the European leaders gathered still cannot find an agreement on the question of the gas price ceiling while the president from the United States Joe Biden calls for Vladimir Putin’s nuclear threat to be taken seriously. There is expectation for the monthly report on American employment, arriving this afternoon from which important indications could arrive on the health of the US economy and consequently on the possible next moves by the Fed, called to curb inflation by holding the risk of recession is always under control.
In this context, the market response is characterized by prudence. Asian indices finished lower, also driven by weak Wall Street sitting, with Tokyo which concluded trading at -0.71%.
On the energy front, a lower start for the gas. In Amsterdam, the future expiring in November in early trading is 166 euros per megawatt hour, down by 5% compared to yesterday’s close.
Retail sales down in Italy: -0.4% in August
Summer slowdown for retail sales in Italy: Istat estimates that in August they fell on July (-0.4% in value and -1.1% in volume), both for non-food goods (-0, 3% in value and -0.9% in volume) and for foodstuffs (-0.5% in value and -1.4% in volume). In the annual comparison we see the full effect of inflation: in fact they increase by 4.3% in value but decrease by 2.1% in volume. Sales of non-food goods grow in value (+ 2.2%) while they decrease in volume (-1.0%). Also for the sales of food goods there was an increase in value and a decrease in volume (respectively + 6.8% and -3.5%).
“Even the holidays and the influx of tourists recorded in August are not enough to save sales to raise the data. The high cost of living and the expensive bills are decimating sales, even food, which is by definition the most necessary”, says the National Consumers Union.
European stock exchanges open down
The main European stock exchanges opened the session in negative. In the first minutes of trading, the Ftse Mib recorded -0.70% to 21.002 points, while Frankfurt trades at -0.58%, Paris marks -0.40% and London -0.25%.
Spread slightly down to 240 points
The spread between BTP and German Bund opens slightly to 240 basis points, with the Italian ten-year yield at 4.50% on the secondary market.
Euro little moved in the start
Little opening for the euro on the currency markets. The single currency changes hands at $ 0.978 (-0.08%). In Asia, the yen is at 145 (-0.07%).