Stock markets: a lull on the markets ahead of US inflation figures; Avio soars in Milan (+6%)
Oil prices are falling, but gas prices are rising. Prysmian shares rise following a price increase
(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - European stock markets are rebounding following yesterday’s dip, on a day when the European Central Bank, as expected, raised interest rates by 25 basis points. Traders are buoyed by the fall in crude oil prices, although prices remain at high levels and, moreover, the situation in the Middle East continues to be complicated by ongoing cross-fire. In any case, WTI is down 1.2 per cent today at $101.24 per barrel, whilst North Sea Brent has fallen by 1.58 per cent to $105.93 per barrel. In Europe, gas price trends are causing concern, particularly at a time when countries need to build up reserves for the winter: in Amsterdam, the benchmark contract is up 1.4% at €80.41 per megawatt hour. In early trading, Frankfurt is up 0.36 per cent, Paris 0.6 per cent and Milan 0.83 per cent. Government bonds remain under scrutiny: the German 10-year Bund is yielding 3.5 per cent, whilst the BTP is hovering around 4.36 per cent. The spotlight now shifts to the United States, where the Federal Reserve is set to announce its monetary policy decisions next week. Traders fear that the Chairman, Kevin Warsh, may raise interest rates as early as next week to tackle inflation. Today, however, the US consumer price index figures will be crucial, following yesterday’s revelation that producer prices rose by 5.4 per cent year-on-year in August.
In Milan, Prysmian rose by over 1 per cent, having successfully completed the placement of newly issued ordinary shares for a total gross amount of approximately €850 million, carried out via an accelerated bookbuilding process aimed exclusively at qualified or institutional investors. Attention also remains focused on the banking sector, as the game of risk enters its decisive phase. Yesterday, the shareholders’ meeting of Intesa Sanpaolo (+1.1 per cent) gave the green light to the capital increase to fund the takeover bid for MPS (+0.8 per cent). Furthermore, according to *Il Sole 24 Ore*, the Competition Authority will shortly launch an in-depth investigation, which will focus primarily on the adequacy of the divestments already agreed between MPS and Unipol (+1.2%). Avio shares are soaring, up by over 6 per cent, in the wake of its first-half results, which showed a return to profit.
In the foreign exchange market, the euro/dollar is trading at 1.16 (yesterday at 1.1625), whilst the euro/yen stands at 178.57 (179.06) and the dollar/yen is trading at 154.17 (154.02). Gold futures are trading at $4,391 an ounce (-0.13 per cent) and Bitcoin is trading at 77,234 (+0.15 per cent).
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