MILAN – Caution still prevails on the stock markets, while the consequences of the crises in the banking sector are still being assessed. Futures fluctuating on Wall Street, European markets open lower, after the colorless session in Asia which saw a negative performance by banking sector stocks. The Nasdaq, the American technological index, remains to soar with a performance close to earning the “bull” certification or maxi-rebound from the recent lows. For the rest, caution prevails, with the focus on medium-sized US banks which remain exposed to great volatility despite the fact that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has once again aired the hypothesis of greater protection for deposits.
Weak opening on European markets
The banking turmoil hasn’t stopped the monetary tightening, which has eased but continues. Although the markets are beginning to glimpse the end of the tunnel, they continue to fear the moves of central banks. Estimates of the PMIs in the euro area for March at the manufacturing, tertiary and composite index levels are expected in the morning, which should show a modest improvement in the climate of confidence. The Cac 40 index lost 0.66% to 7,092.12 points, Frankfurt’s Dax 30 dropped 0.54% to 15,128.38 points and the FTSE 100 lost 0.71% to 7,446. 70 points. In Piazza Affari, the Ftse Mib decreased by 0.65%.
Pmi, the German composite at the top for ten months. But manufacturing falls
Germany’s composite PMI rose to a 10-month high in March, led by the services sector. Particularly negative, however, is the result of the manufacturing index, which has fallen to a minimum for almost three years. In particular, the general indicator calculated by S&P Global rose to 52.6 points from 51.7 in February, beating the market’s expectations of 50.7. The services index also fell to its highest level since May 2022 at 55.5 points from the previous 52.5, above the 53.1 points estimated by analysts. The manufacturing index, on the other hand, fell to 44.4 points from 47, collapsing to levels not seen since May 2020 and below the 46.3 expected by investors.
Weak stocks in Asia, fears of slowdown
In Asia, most stock markets fell on fears of a global slowdown in the economy and in light of comments from US regulators who have failed to entirely allay worries about a banking crisis. Hong Kong drops by 0.74%, Shanghai loses 0.60%, while the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed slightly lower on the day in which the slight slowdown was recorded in February of Japan’s ‘core’ inflation which slowed to 3.1%, after rising to 4.2% in January, the top for 41 years. The Nikkei index retreated 0.13% to 27,386 points, while the Topix trimmed 0.10% to 1,955 points.
Inflation slows down in Japan, Tokyo closes slightly down
The Tokyo Stock Exchange closed slightly lower on the day Japan’s ‘core’ inflation slowed down in February to 3.1%, after rising to 4.2% in January for 41 years.
The Nikkei index retreated 0.13% to 27,386 points, while the Topix trimmed 0.10% to 1,955 points.
Weak futures on Europe, Wall Street tries to consolidate the recovery
Negative futures for European stock exchanges. The Frankfurt Dax is expected to drop by 0.45%, for London the future marks -0.61%, while the Euro Stoxx 50 is down 0.10%. Instead, Wall Street tries to consolidate the recovery after yesterday’s close higher, a signal that the market begins to see the end of the tunnel after the Fed on Wednesday signaled that the banking system turmoil could end the rate hikes sooner than expected maybe as early as May. The Dow Jones is expected to rise by 0.15%, the future of the S&P 500 marks a +0.12%, while for the Nasdaq we are at +0.14%.