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(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – Positive morning for the European stock markets, accelerating upwards after a cautious start, while investors are waiting for the interventions of the president of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, and the number one of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, at the Jackson Hole symposium. Markets will be evaluating central bankers’ statements for guidance on the next monetary policy moves on both sides of the Atlantic. The market, based on Fed Funds futures, currently expects the US central bank to leave interest rates unchanged through the end of the year, even though the probability of maintaining the status quo at the September meeting has dropped to 80%. up from 89% last week. At Piazza Affari, the FTSE MIB is on positive ground, doing slightly better than the main indices of the Old Continent, with the DAX 40 of Frankfurt, the CAC 40 of Paris and the AEX of Amsterdam.
FTSE Mib Stock Exchange performance
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In Milan, Iveco Group recovers, weak Banca Mps
In Piazza Affari, among the main Milanese stocks, Iveco Group is recovering ground, which had lost 15 percent since 3 August. The banking sector has thwarted: most of the stocks are in positive territory led upwards by Unicredit, when Banca Mps continues to show weakness. Stellantis rises again after the braking on the eve, when the purchases also reward Saipem.
Dollar at 11-week high, oil up
On the currency market, the dollar is at an 11-week high against the other major currencies: the cross with the euro is at 1.0798 from 1.0829 yesterday. The greenback is also worth 146.02 yen (from 145.71), while the euro/yen ratio is 157.67 (from 157.79). Oil prices rose: the contract on Brent for October delivery rose by 1.26% to 84.41 dollars a barrel and that of the same maturity on the Wti by 1.23% to 80.02 dollars. The price of natural gas in Amsterdam rose by 7.4% to 34.3 euros per megawatt hour.
In Germany GDP unchanged in the second quarter, Ifo index down
On the macro front, in the second quarter, Germany’s GDP was unchanged compared to the previous quarter while it fell by 0.2% compared to the same quarter of 2022. These are the final data that confirm the provisional ones already released. Furthermore, the confidence climate of German companies as measured by the Ifo institute worsened more than expected. In August the index fell to 85.7 points from the 87.4 points recorded in the previous month of July. Estimates were for a slightly less marked decline, to 86.5 points. The current conditions index narrows to 89 points from 91.4 in July; the expectations index drops to 82.6 from 83.6 points.
Stable spread at 166 points, yield rises to 4.19%
Stable opening session for the spread between BTp and Bund on the Mts secondary market of European government bonds. The yield differential between the 10-year benchmark BTP and the German bond of the same duration has in fact started trading at 166 basis points, the same level as yesterday’s closing. The yield on the Italian bond on the 10-year maturity rose fractionally, indicated at 4.19% from 4.18% on the previous day.