Stock market: Europe on edge ahead of ECB decision; Milan (+0.4%) leads the way, driven by Lottomatica
Brent crude is rising again to $102, its highest level since May
(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Nervousness prevails on the European stock markets, which are showing mixed performance at the halfway point of the trading session, whilst oil prices have risen again and the ECB’s interest rate decision is imminent. The Milan Stock Exchange remains the best performer (+0.4%), with the FTSE MIB regaining the 52,000-point mark. Next come Madrid and Paris (+0.2%), whilst Frankfurt (unchanged), Amsterdam (-0.2%) and London (-0.4%) lag further behind. Brent crude prices, after an initial pullback, have reached $102 per barrel, their highest level since last May. WTI futures exceeded $97 (+1%). Gas prices in Amsterdam also returned to €80 per megawatt-hour, confirming the 2023 levels reached the previous day.
As for the ECB, a rate rise from 2.25 per cent to 2.50 per cent seems a foregone conclusion. Attention will therefore focus primarily on the signals coming from President Christine Lagarde’s press conference “to gauge whether there is scope for a third rate rise by the end of the year or whether, on the contrary, there is a greater inclination to wait for the lagged effects of recent moves”, note analysts at MPS. Also expected this afternoon are the US producer price figures for August, which will provide some indication ahead of tomorrow’s CPI release.
On the Milan stock exchange, Lottomatica is rallying again (+4.9 per cent), a week after the announcement of its merger with Cirsa (+4.9 per cent in Madrid). Leonardo (+2.9%), Inwit (+2.2%), Ferrari (+1.9%) and Fincantieri (+1.7%) also performed well. In the banking sector, Intesa Sanpaolo remains on a cautious upward trend (+0.4%) following shareholders’ approval, by an overwhelming majority, of the capital increase to fund the public takeover bid for MPS (+0.5%). For its part, the Siena-based bank has filed documents with Consob relating to the two voluntary public takeover bids for Banco BPM (-0.25 per cent) and Banca Generali (+0.2 per cent). At the bottom of the list were Moncler (-2.6 per cent) and BPER (-1 per cent). Poste (-0.8%) and TIM (-0.5%) were also down on the eve of the close of the ordinary acceptance period for the takeover bid launched on the telecoms group, with both shares trading at the offer price.
In the foreign exchange market, the euro/dollar is trading little changed at 1.1626 (from 1.1639 at the open and 1.1626 at yesterday’s close), whilst the euro/yen stands at 179 (from 178.68 and 178.74) and the dollar/yen rises to 154 (from 153.53). Bitcoin is down, falling back below $78,000 (77,871), as is gold, which is trading just above $4,000 an ounce (4,380).
