EU stock exchanges cautious, Milan snaps with Eni and banks. Brent above $110

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - European stock exchanges are cautious as they await clarity on talks between the United States and Iran after Tehran's negotiating proposal centred on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, in exchange for the lifting of the US maritime blockade, as a first step towards ending the war and tackling nuclear talks at a later stage. With the Strait of Hormuz de facto still closed, oil prices are still accelerating and Brent futures are surpassing $100 per barrel. Investors' eyes are also on the central banks and the quarterly reporting season with US big tech accounts coming in the next few days. The Central Bank of Japan left rates unchanged but issued a warning on inflation due to the impact of energy prices. The Tokyo Stock Exchange thus slipped from all-time highs and closed lower. From the Fed (which will decide on Wednesday), markets do not expect any moves on rates but will focus on the words of Chairman Jerome Powell, in what could be the last meeting before Kevin Warsh takes the helm.

Against this backdrop, the main European indices move in contrast: the FTSE MIB of Milan, theCAC 40 of Paris, the DAX 40 of Frankfurt, the IBEX 35 of Madrid, the AEX of Amsterdam, the FTSE 100 of London.

On the Milan stock exchange Eni took advantage of the rise in crude oil prices and took the lead (also well Tenaris and Saipem ). Purchases on banks (starting with Mediobanca ) with eyes remaining on the sector's resurgence after the Delfin's shareholders' go-ahead for the reorganisation that will see Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio become the leading shareholder with 37.5 per cent of the family safe, at the head of the Essilorluxottica and major stakes in Banca Monte Paschi Siena and Generali , as well as in Unicredit . Rising Prysmian , on the back of Nexans' rally in Paris, while Stmicroelectronics also climbed. On the opposite side of the list, Diasorin slipped and Recordati also lost share after the profit warning of competitor Qiagen (which released preliminary results).

On the currency, the euro fell back below $1.17 while the yen strengthened after the Bank of Japan revised its inflation forecasts upwards and three members of the Governing Council spoke in favour of a rate increase.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept its benchmark rate unchanged at 0.75 per cent, citing concerns about rising oil and other commodity prices due to the war in Iran. The Japanese central bank's decision was expected, although the 6-3 vote among members of the monetary policy committee was not unanimous. Pressure is mounting on Japan to gradually raise interest rates after years of keeping the benchmark rate near or below zero to combat deflation. The US Federal Reserve and European central banks will also meet this week on interest rates. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed down -1.02% after the BOJ's decision.