MILANO – After the financial turbulence of the last few weeks it’s time for Fed. The US central bank is expected to announce its monetary policy decisions this evening, with markets seeing a 25 basis point rate hike as the most likely scenario. But it was precisely the Fed’s restrictive monetary policy that ended up on the bench, to the point of prompting some observers to hope for a rethink by the Central Bank, which before the outbreak of the crisis was even evaluating an even greater increase. From the intervention of the president Jerome Powell however, above all, indications are awaited on the future, if and how it will react to the shocks that have hit American banks. Important indications in this sense will also come from the economic forecasts that the Fed itself will release this evening. Special attention is always First Republic, after the intervention of the consortium of US banks, the hypothesis of support from the government is also making headway.
On the European markets, the price lists ended in contrast during the day. In Asia, on the other hand, the price lists are well oriented, with Tokyo ending at +1.93%
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Piazza Affari closes at -0.12% due to Fed uncertainty
Piazza Affari closes at -0.12% due to Fed uncertainty
Mixed closure for the European stock exchanges. The wait for the decision on American rates was added to the sales on banks (down in Zurich Credit Suisse and UBS) and on many financial stocks, especially Milan (-0.12% the Ftse Mib) and Madrid (over in the red by 0.3%), when Paris (+0.26% the Cac40) and Frankfurt (+0.14% the Dax40) remained above parity with Amsterdam in the pink jersey (+0.76% the Aex) . The market certainly expects a slowdown in the monetary policy tightening by the US central bank, despite inflation still not under control, in the light of the banking crisis and the consequent turbulence: futures on Fed Funds consider it probable at 86.4 % up 25 basis points, while maintaining the status quo is quoted at 13.6%.
Piazza Affari cautiously rises
Piazza Affari proceeds slightly up, with the Ftse Mib gaining 0.14% to 26,591.61 points. The intraday high reached 26,678.40 points, while the low reached 26,439.12 points.
Terna, profit and revenues grow
Terna closes 2022 “in a very challenging context” with revenues up by 13.8% to 2.964 million euros, ebitda at 2.059 billion (+11%) and group net profit at 857 million, up by 8. 6%. Terna underlines the strong growth of investments in the core business of electricity infrastructures. Furthermore, in 2022, Terna obtained the authorizations to carry out 29 development projects on the national transmission grid for a value exceeding 2.5 billion euro: more than doubled the record figure for 2021 and almost tenfold the value for 2020. Overall, in 2022 Terna made investments for a total of 1.7568 billion, up by 15.5%. Approved a dividend of 31.44 euro cents per share, +8% compared to 2021, in line with the dividend policy. For 2023, an EBITDA of 2.12 billion and EPS of 0.43 euros are expected.
Lane (ECB): “Core inflation will fall with energy prices”
Core inflation in the euro area will fall along with energy prices, but the continued easing in consumer price inflation is based on expected wage growth peak in 2023, European Central Bank chief economist Philip Lane said. , he reports Reuters.
European stock exchanges recover ground
After a weak start, the European financial markets are recovering on the day in which the decision of the Fed on the possible new rise in interest rates is expected. At the moment only the London Stock Exchange remains in negative territory, penalized by the annual inflation figure exceeding expectations in February, which reached 10.4%.
In Frankfurt the Dax index marks +0.45%, in Milan the Ftse Mib +0.27% while in Paris the Cac 40 +0.20%. In London, however, the FTSE 100 lost 0.22%.
Lagarde: “Not committed to new hikes or stops”
“With high uncertainty, it is even more important that the path of rates depends on the data. This means that, ex ante, we are not committed to raising rates further nor are we finished doing so.” This was stated by the president of the ECB, Christine Lagarde, during the conference “The ECB and Its Watchers XXIII”. “Indeed, as I explained last week, if the baseline scenario of our latest projections is confirmed, we still have ground to go to ensure that inflationary pressures are eliminated,” she adds.
UBS offers to buy back bonds for 2.75 billion
UBS is offering the buyback of 2.75 billion euros of bonds issued on Friday ahead of the Credit Suisse takeover that matured over the weekend. The institute is inviting holders of senior unsecured bail-in bonds maturing March 2028 and March 2032 to offer their bonds in exchange for cash at the respective re-offer price. UBS made this decision based on a “cautious assessment” following “recent developments” and based on its long-term commitment to its investors,” it said in a statement.
Weak bags at the start
Weak opening for the main European stock exchanges awaiting the decisions of the Fed. In Frankfurt the Dax is flat at -0.03% to 15,190.39 points, in London the FTSE 100 drops 0.223% to 7,516.90 points, in Paris the Cac 40 lost 0.21% to 7,098.70 points and in Madrid the Ibex-35 scored -0.06% to 9,044.03 points. In Milan, the Ftse Mib drops by 0.25% in the early stages.
Chinese markets close higher
Chinese stock markets closed higher on Wednesday, with the Shanghai Composite Index rising 0.31% to 3,265.75 points. The Shenzhen index closed up 0.61% at 11,496.93 points.
Spreads down at the start
The spread between the BTP and the Bund at the start is down to 181 basis points with the yield on the Italian 10-year bond stable at 4.107%.