MILANO – An upward start for the European stock exchanges on a day that looks mainly to this afternoon, when the Bce will communicate the extent of the new rate hike. If the markets now take for granted an increase of 50 points, indications are expected from President Lagarde on the moves in the coming months, also given the recent slowdown in inflation in Europe. On the other hand, few repercussions from yesterday’s intervention by the Fedwhich, as widely expected, raised rates by a further 0.25%, to the highest since 2007, with President Powell ruling out cuts starting this year.
In Asia, with India still shaken by the collapse of the Adani group – which today left another 10% behind – the indices closed in no particular order. Plus sign for Tokyo, with the Nikkei stopping at +0.2%,
The Asian stock exchanges close in no particular order
Asian stock exchanges closed mixed after the Fed’s decision to raise rates ‘only’ by 25 basis points. In Tokyo, the Nikkei index finished up 0.20% at 27,402.05 points. Shanghai closed flat at 3,285.67 points after Chinese health authorities announced that the number of deaths in clinics and hospitalizations from Covid continues to fall, after the wave of infections that hit the country in conjunction with travel without restrictions during the Lunar New Year holidays. Hong Kong dropped 0.5% at the end to 21,958.36 points and the Kospi index recorded an increase of 0.70% to 2,468.88 points. In India, shares in Adani Group plunged 10% in early trading this morning after canceling a $2.4 billion share sale. In a few days Adani has burned over 100 billion dollars of capitalization and the selloff shows no signs of stopping.
The EU stock exchanges open higher on the day of the ECB
Positive opening for the European stock exchanges on the day of the ECB on rates and in the aftermath of the Fed’s decision which, without surprises, raised them by 0.25%. Milan marks an increase of half a percentage point in the first stages. Among the individual titles, eyes on Tim, who confirmed KKR’s “non-binding” offer for the network.
Adani collapses again in India
In India, shares in Adani Group plunged 10% in early trading this morning after canceling a $2.4 billion share sale. In a few days Adani has burned over 100 billion dollars of capitalization and the selloff shows no signs of stopping.
The spread opens down
The spread between Btp and Bund opens down to 193 points, compared to 200 points at yesterday’s close. The yield on the Italian 10-year bond was also down, standing at 4.21%, with a drop of 7 basis points compared to the previous session.
The euro strengthens after the Fed
The euro strengthens against the dollar after the Fed’s decision to raise rates by just 25 basis points and awaiting the ECB’s verdict. The greenback tumbled after President Jerome Powell spoke of progress in containing inflationary pressure. His words were taken as a message of “softening” compared to recent months, when rate hikes were much more rapid and robust.
The single currency changed hands at 1.1014 dollars and fell slightly to 141.60 yen. Against a basket of currencies, the US dollar index fell to a new nine-month low, 100.80, while the latest decline was 0.07% to 100.88, after closing down by over 1% yesterday. The Japanese currency strengthened against the greenback at 128.57.