The volatile climate of Wall Street, at the mercy of the Powell hawk, and the gloomy forecasts of the WHO on the expansion of the Omicron variant in Europe, do not disturb the continental lists that much, which raise their heads and close positive after three consecutive sessions in decline .
GOOD PLACE OF BUSINESS, CARIGE SINK
Piazza Affari closes the session with an increase of 0,67% to 27.535 points, driven by Atlantia +3,57%, Saipem +2,79%, Amplifon +2,45% and with financials well in tune starting with Banca Generali +2,18%. However, Carige sinks (-11,25%, 0,7934 euros per share), in an attempt to align with the price (0,8 euros) of the possible Bper takeover bid, after the Interbank Deposit Protection Fund (Fitd) chose the Modenese bank to negotiate the sale of the controlling stake. Unipol, the largest shareholder of Bper, stops with a rise of 0,66%.
The other banks are mixed: Banco Bpm appreciates +1,6%; Unicredit drops -1,5%.
In oil, Saipem shines, having been awarded 2 new contracts in Australia and Guyana for a total value of 1,1 billion dollars (0,97 billion euros, the first with Woodside and the second with Exxonmobil.
In fashion, Moncler loses, -0,4%, while Cucinelli appreciates +4,22% thanks to 2021 revenues above expectations.
Pquadro did well +1,89%, which closed the third quarter of 2021, which runs from October to December, with a consolidated turnover of 45,7 million euros, an annual growth of 36,4%.
The other markets of the Old Continent like Amsterdam +1,19%, followed by Frankfurt +1,11% and Paris +0,95%, are tonic. Madrid +0,58% and London +0,62% lag behind.
POWELL: MORE AGGRESSIVE ON RATES IF NECESSARY
Investors' attention remains directed to inflation and the choices of central banks to deal with it. Useful indications for the USA could arrive tomorrow and the day after tomorrow on the trend in the month of December, with the outgoing data on consumer and production prices.
In the meantime, Jerome Powell and Christine Lagarde spoke today, pressed by the hawks of their respective areas.
On the one hand, the Fed's number one confirmed that he was more aggressive: "If inflation continues to be higher than forecasts - he told the Senate, on the occasion of his appointment to his second term - we will have to increase interest rates several times […] If a more aggressive rate hike is needed, the Fed will do it”, even if “we will probably remain in an era of very low interest rates”. Inflationary pressures will persist through mid-year, while the Federal Reserve's balance sheet reduction could begin in 2022 and the tapering will conclude in March.
Lagarde was more cautious, despite the breathing down her neck of the German bankers, at the inauguration ceremony of the new president of the Bundesbank Joachim Nagel, successor of Jens Weidmann.
“We understand that rising prices are a concern for many people – said Lagarde – and we take this concern very seriously. But people can be confident that our commitment to price stability is unwavering, which is crucial for the firm anchoring of inflation expectations and for confidence in the currency."
The messages from the German side are clear: "It is probable that the inflation rate will decrease again this year - underlined Weidmann - but uncertainty remains high as to whether rates will promptly fall below the 2% target or strengthen". Therefore Eurotower should pursue its goal of monetary stability "without taking into account the financing costs of governments".
For Nagel "one thing is clear: if price stability requires it, the ECB must act and adjust its monetary policy course".
THE SPREAD GOES UP
In this context, the spread between Italian and German ten-year bonds is rising, reaching 139 basis points today (+2,7%), with the BTP rate at +1,32% and that of the Bund at -0,07%.
OIL IN THE RALLY AND THE EURO IN TUNE
Among the raw materials runs oil: Brent +3,26%, 83,51 dollars a barrel; Wti +3,7%, 81,12 dollars a barrel.
Gold did well, with spot gold over 1808,30 dollars an ounce.
On the currency market, the euro is progressing against the dollar and the cross is around 1,36.
WHO: HALF OF EUROPEANS IN BRIEF WITH OMICRON
Even the pandemic remains a topic constantly monitored by the markets, although the Omicron variant, more contagious but less lethal, seems to have a lesser impact on the economy.
But the numbers are impressive. In the US, a new all-time record of 1,35 million new infections in one day was reached.
As far as Europe is concerned, WHO warns: in the next six to eight weeks, over half of the continental population could be infected with the Omicron variant. Europe reported more than 7 million new Covid-19 infections in the first week of 2022, more than doubling in two weeks, according to Hans Kluge, European director of the World Health Organization. "With this trend, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation predicts that more than 50 percent of the region's population will be infected with Omicron in the next 6 to 8 weeks."
