(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – The first session of the eighth of the European stock markets begins in a minor tone and marked by weakness, after the rises of last week and after the Christmas break (on December 24 many European markets, including Milan, were closed): the very rapid rise of Omicron variant infections, which risks blocking many activities starting from air travel, makes investors fear new impacts on the economy while in Asia analysts look to the indications received over the weekend by the Chinese central bank which wants to have a “proactive” attitude of support for real economy with a focus on the real estate sector.
This is how the FTSE MIB in Milan, the CAC 40 in Paris, the DAX 40 in Frankfurt, the IBEX 35 in Madrid and the AEX in Amsterdam travel at a slow pace. Closed for London holidays both today and on December 28th. Few significant data from the macroeconomic calendar in the last week of the year: the most relevant, the Chinese SME indices, will arrive on Friday 31st when several markets will be closed (Piazza Affari for example) or will observe a short session.
However, the last sessions of the year are generally characterized by reduced trade i due to the holiday period, which make the performance of financial markets unpredictable. Added to this is a scenario of uncertainty caused by the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which casts doubts on the trend of economic activity. The other big unknown is the resistance ofinflation. Last Thursday in the United States the prices of the PCE basket, watched by the Federa Reserve for its decisions, increased by 5.7%, as had not happened for 40 years.
Cnh Industrial runs, health sector good
Cnh Industrial stands out in Milan after the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting approved the spin-off of the Iveco Group which will be effective from January 1st and will see the two independent listed companies in Piazza Affari from January 3rd. The healthcare sector performed well with Amplifon, Diasorin and Recordati in the spotlight. Nexi and Eni slack. Piatta Bper after the Interbank Fund for the Protection of Deposits has for the moment decided not to grant the Modenese bank an exclusive right to negotiate for Carige. Outside the Ftse Mib little move Saras: on Christmas Eve, the oil refining group received notification of the conclusion of investigations by the Public Prosecutor of Cagliari relating to a proceeding concerning alleged irregularities in the purchase of crude oil from Iraq in 2016.
Spread leaps to 142 points
Departure in sharp decline for the BTp traded on the electronic secondary Mts. The yield differential between the ten-year Italian benchmark (IT0005436693) and the same German maturity is indicated at 142 basis points from the 133 points of the final on Thursday 23 December with a yield of the Italian ten-year that jumps to 1.14% from 1, 05 percent last week. The tensions on the markets due to the spread of the Omicron variant are also reflected in European fixed income. At the start of the session, the ten-year Spanish Bonos also fell sharply, with the spread with Bunds widening to 82 basis points.
Oil down, euro continues recovery. Gas prices thud
On the currency market, the euro is confirmed against the US currency and trades at 1.1323 (from 1.1317), while the euro / yen 129.68 (129.40). Euro / dollar at 114.47 (114.34). Oil prices down: February Brent at $ 75.83 a barrel, February WTI at $ 72.76 a barrel.
Gas prices are still down after last week’s records: on the TTF market, the January future slips by 16% to 91.9 euros per megawatt hour and the February maturity drops 15% to 93.94 euros per megawatt hour.