European stock markets are weak ahead of the ECB meeting. Oil at $100
According to experts, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank is set to announce a 25 basis point rise in interest rates. The yen is at its highest level since February
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(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - The latest rises in the price of oil, with Brent crude back at $100 a barrel, and gas, which costs €78 per megawatt-hour in Amsterdam, are prompting caution amongst European stock markets, which are awaiting the outcome of the ECB Governing Council meeting on Thursday. The market expects an interest rate rise of 25 basis points, but traders will carefully assess any indications regarding the central bank’s next moves, whilst the latest tit-for-tat attacks on energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf between the United States and Iran risk keeping price pressures high.
The FTSE MIB on the Milan Stock Exchange is thus trading just below par, in line with the other major European indices.
Meanwhile, on the subject of monetary policy, the countdown has also begun for the FOMC meeting – the operational arm of the Federal Reserve – scheduled for next week. According to CME FedWatch data, the market considers a 60 per cent probability of a quarter-point rise in US interest rates.
Buying in oil stocks; banks weak
Among the leading stocks on the Milan stock exchange, high oil prices continue to buoy energy shares, led by Eni . Attention remains focused on the banks, which are generally down, on the eve of the shareholders’ meeting of Intesa Sanpaolo, which is set to give the green light to the capital operation in support of the takeover bid for Banca Monte Paschi Siena . As for the Siena-based bank, on Tuesday, as expected, the non-executive directors Gianluca Brancadoro and Alessandro Caltagirone were co-opted onto the board.
All eyes are also on the tech sector and STMicroelectronics , on the day Apple is set to unveil its new foldable iPhone. Finally, Telecom Italia is under close scrutiny in the final days of the takeover bid launched by Poste Italiane , following the upward revision of the cash price per share.
