A better-than-expected earnings season, hopes that the Ukrainian crisis can be resolved without damage and the buoyant performance of Wall Street contribute to the positive sentiment in European markets. Continental listings close sharply higher led by Piazza Affari, which flies by 2,72% and exceeds the psychological threshold of 27 basis points (27.128) thanks to the banks, although not all of them have kept pace.
Follow Madrid +1,96%; Amsterdam +1,87%; Frankfurt +1,59%; Paris +1,46%; London + 1,12%.
A New York DJs, the S&P500 and the Nasdaq are progressing after yesterday's earnings and in light of higher-than-expected accounts from many companies. Prices are up and yields on T-bonds are down slightly, after the market put pressure on government bonds in recent sessions ahead of the January consumer price data, due out tomorrow, expected at +7,2% , which corresponds to the highest rate for 40 years.
Yields are also lower in Europe and on the Italian secondary market the spread goes down: 151 basis points (-1,97%), with a 10-year BTP rate of +1,7% and +0,19% for the Bund of the same duration.
Among the raw materials oil rears its head, after the recent sales: Brent rises to 91,8 dollars a barrel, with an increase of 1,12%.
There are few movements on the currency: the euro gains around 0,2% and changes around 1,144.
Piazza Affari flies with banks, cars and utilities
Quarterly earnings higher than estimates, the expectation of a rate hike and the improvement in the opinion of analysts are reviving the banks starting from Bpm bank, which appreciates by 8,08%. The stock also benefits from Citi's promotion to "Buy", with a target price of 3,60 euros from the previous 3,35.
Bucking Bfor, -0,88%, despite the doubling of net profit in 2021, but with a fourth quarter in the red for over 61 million due to adjustments equal to 122,8 million. The stock has gained about 10% since the beginning of the year.
Profit takings also weigh on Ps, -3,12%, after yesterday's leap. But the big names shine, Understanding +3,03% and Unicredit +1,53%, together with Mediobanca + 2,12%.
Among the industrialists, the Iveco +6,94% after the accounts and sales on the eve. Shopping intensifies Cnh, +5,61%. In the wake Exor +5,17%, which also looks at stellantis + 4,06%.
There are among the top ten biggest rises in the Ftse Mib Buzzi +6,11%; nexi +4,77%; stm +3,85%; Finecobank +4,3%; Amplifon + 4,16%.
The utilities raise their head again starting with Terna + 3,55%. Enel rrecovers 2,31%.
Progress also affects the oil sector, with the exception of Saipem -2,85%, which does not rise from the precipice into which it fell. Slightly declining Pirelli -0,23%.
Iceland raises rates
Today's session overshadowed a series of problems that remain on the table, such as the orientation towards a more restrictive policy by the central banks.
Reuters notes that risk appetite may be impacted by decisions as markets have become accustomed to abundant liquidity and low rates over a long period of time.
In this context, for example, the yield on 10-year bonds from Japan reached 0,215%, the highest since January 2016, that on Treasuries had risen to 2019 levels and in Europe the peripherals, in particular Italian stocks came under pressure in the last sessions. This trend has boosted bank stocks, but it has also weighed on the appetite for equities.
However, a rock cannot stem the sea and if inflation continues to rise, an adjustment is necessary. The president of the Bundesbank Joachim Nagel observing that the experts of the German central institute estimate inflation in Germany in 2022 above 4%, therefore "if the situation does not change by March I will side with the normalization of monetary policy" of the European Central Bank. "There are signs that the energy price hike is lasting longer and is affecting the prices of other goods and services, in a context of strong demand."
Meanwhile, the central bank of small Iceland raised the reference rate by 0,75% to 2,75% to deal with inflation and due to higher-than-expected data on economic growth. For the central bank of the island, this is the fourth increase in just over six months and the strongest increase since, in May 2021, the institution decided to return to a restrictive monetary policy.
Suthe US front the probability has increased that in March the central bank will intervene with a hike of 50 basis points, against 25 previously estimated. The president of the Federal Reserve of Atlanta, Raphael Bostic, foresees three or four interest rate hikes in the course of 2022, but reiterates that the central bank does not have a specific plan and will adapt to the trend of the economy.
Germany to the gas barrel
It weighs on the mood the ukrainian crisis, also considering the consequences on the energy level. The political climate these days seems to have improved slightly, but in the meantime Germany is launching an alarm about its gas reserves: the level has dropped alarmingly, to 35-36%. A short time ago it had already dropped to 40% against 82% in 2020.
Energy prices have an impact on industry and families with high bills in Italy as well.
On point the Prime Minister Mario Draghi, on the occasion of his visit to Genoa, he announced a “wide-ranging intervention” to alleviate the burden and a new provision will be launched in the next few days.
Looking to a decidedly more distant future, new hopes of unlimited and low-cost energy are ignited thanks to the breakthrough in the European Jet program on the nuclear fusion. The Eurofusion consortium has announced the excellent results of an experiment that is getting closer to fusion. “We proved that we can create a miniature star inside our machinery and keep it there for five seconds, obtaining high performance”. That throws us into "a really new field," says Dr. Joe Milnes, head of the laboratory where the reactor is in operation.
OECD: Italy has reached the peak of growth
Growth will become more moderate in some of the major economies, including Italy, in the coming months, according to the OECD super-index. In January, the indicator settled at 100,5, with a decrease of 0,07 points, however remaining above the long-term trend which is equal to 100. For Canada, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, the superindex confirms that it is state past the peak of the recovery and that the economy is moving towards moderating growth. In the euro area as a whole, in Japan and in the United States, activity has also already passed the cyclical peak, but the super-index has remained relatively stable since then. For France, the indication is that of growth at a steady pace around the long-term trend. In China (industrial sector) there is a loss of momentum and indications similar to India emerge. The slowdown continues in Brazil, while the outlook for Russia is one of stable growth.
