A mixed ending for the European stock exchanges, among which Piazza Affari stands out with the Ftse Mib index up by 0.8% to 27,275 points. Purchases above all on Mediobanca (+2.3%), Finecobank (+1.9%) and Leonardo (+1.7%), while Amplifon (-0.7%), Diasorin (-0 .6%) and Nexi (-0.6%).
During the day, the final data on the GDP of the eurozone for the first quarter were released, showing a contraction of 0.1%. This is the second consecutive quarterly decline, marking the eurozone’s entry into recession.
In the US, weekly jobless claims totaled 261,000, the highest value since October 2021, indicating that the labor market, while largely resilient, is starting to show signs of cooling. This helped boost tech stocks, with the Nasdaq up 0.9%.
Meanwhile, traders are recalibrating expectations regarding the next moves by central banks, ahead of next week’s Fed and ECB meetings, following the surprise rate hikes made in recent days by banks in Australia and Canada.
On bonds, the Btp-Bund spread contracted to 178 basis points, with the Italian ten-year bond down to 4.2%. Among commodities, oil (Brent) slips below 76 dollars a barrel, while among currencies the euro/dollar jumps to 1.077.