MILANO – 3.00 pm. European stock exchanges are moving downwards with the focus of the markets on the new epidemic wave in Europe and the risk of new restrictions in the countries. The reconfirmation of Jerome Powell at the helm of the Fed he pushed Treasury yields and the dollar higher, with investors expecting a tightening path in rates and monetary policy. Great protagonist of the day is the Petroleum: as expected, US President Joe Biden has ordered the release of 50 million barrels of strategic reserves in coordination with other countries. The operation, announced by the White House, will be taken in parallel with others including China, India, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom. “The economic recovery is stronger and faster than anywhere else in the world,” the Biden administration claims, but despite all this, “American consumers are feeling the impact of high gas prices at the pump and in heating bills. American firms feel it too because oil supply has not kept pace with demand as the global economy emerges from the pandemic. This is why President Biden is using all the tools at his disposal to work to lower prices and address lack of supply “. The variations in prices are not too strong: the WTI – the reference barrel for the American economy – loses 0.30% and is trading at 76.50 dollars.
Europe proceeds in decline: Milano yields 0.67%, with Tim reversing course after yesterday’s leap, as Vivendi opposes the possibility of a Kkr offer. In the rest of Europe, London manages to hold at + 0.09%, while Paris file 0.2% e Frankfurt 0.67%,
Ideas for the markets came from the SME data: in Germany the services index rose to 53.4 against expectations of 51.5. Manufacturing fell to 57.6 but still above forecasts. For France, the six services index rose to 58.2 against expectations of 55.5 and for manufacturing to 54.6 (expected 53.1). The composite data of the Eurozonam also improved, rising to 55.8 from the expected 53.2.
On the other hand, the session was weak in Asia, where Tokyo closed fractionally higher at + 0.09% and Hong Kong instead recorded a flurry of sales in the technology sector after yesterday’s negative session on Nasdaq.
On the rise spread between BTP and German Bund. After yesterday’s 5-point increase, the spread opened at 128 points in early trading and then settled at 128 points with the 10-year yield exceeding 1%. Among the currencies, the euro is stable while, in Asia, as mentioned the dollar strengthens and the yen reaches 115 against the greenback, a level it hasn’t reached since 2017.
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