Stock market: Europe up on the back of a tech rebound. Prysmian and St surge in Milan

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - European stock markets have been on an upward trend from the very start of trading , with the main indices rising. Following a mixed session in Asia and in the wake of gains on Wall Street, driven by a recovery in the tech sector (the Nasdaq rose by 2.25%), Europe is focusing on the easing of tensions in the Middle East – albeit amidst mixed signals and contradictory statements, and ahead of the talks in Doha – with the fall in oil prices (-1%, with Brent at $72.3 and WTI at $60) and the recovery in the technology sector. Consequently, the FTSE MIB in Milan, the CAC 40 in Paris, the DAX 40 in Frankfurt, the IBEX 35 in Madrid, the AEX in Amsterdam and the FTSE 100 in London.

Macroeconomic data is in the spotlight today, with European inflation figures due to be released (French inflation has slowed to 1.8%, whilst UK GDP rose by 0.6% in the first quarter). But all eyes are on Sintra, where the annual meeting of central banks is taking place: on Monday evening, ECB President Christine Lagarde said in her opening address that Europe is more resilient to shocks than in the past and that the era of emergency policies is over, but that we can return to the fundamentals and the use of interest rates to control inflation. Speeches by numerous central bankers are expected throughout the day, as well as key macroeconomic data to watch, with inflation figures due from Germany, France and Italia.

On the equity market, the tech sector remains one to watch, with STMicroelectronics is among the top performers, having received a positive rating from Morgan Stanley (with the target price rising to 78 euros from 74), whilst the market keeps concerns about the return on AI investments in the background. Also in the spotlight is Prysmian is also in the spotlight, following the go-ahead for work to upgrade the HVDC link across the Cook Strait. Banks remain in the spotlight, with the banking crisis still the central issue and Banco Bpm posting the worst performance. Avio is up, whilst Leonardo and Amplifon are also down. Outside the main index, all eyes remain on Trevi Fin Ind , following the launch of Icop’s public offer, whilst Ecom’s shares are suspended pending an announcement.

On the foreign exchange market, the dollar is strengthening, putting pressure on the euro, which has slipped just below the 1.14 mark to 1.1398 (from 1.1422 at yesterday’s close). The single currency is hovering around 185 yen (184.94, the same as yesterday’s close), whilst the dollar/yen exchange rate rose to 162.27 (from 161.9), hitting a 40-year low as the market speculates on possible intervention by the BoJ. Among precious metals, gold has regained the $4,000 per ounce mark at $4,030 (+0.36%), whilst, on the energy front, the price of natural gas on the Amsterdam TTF platform has fallen by 0.4% to 42.43 euros per MWh.
Oil prices, meanwhile, are falling after the United States and Iran separately announced they were sending delegations to Qatar, although the Islamic Republic has clarified that no talks with the United States have been agreed.

The spread between BTp and Bund bonds edged down slightly. The yield spread between the benchmark 10-year BTp and the German Bund of the same maturity stood at 72 basis points, one basis point lower than the previous close. The yield on the benchmark 10-year BTp fell, opening at 3.56%, down from 3.59% at the previous close.