Le European stock exchanges they're going through a black day, with Milano at the forefront of pessimism. The Ftse Mib is losing over 1,5%, dangerously approaching 32 thousand points. The other main European indices are also in red: Paris, despite a rebound in industrial production (+0,8% in June) lost 0,8%, Frankfurt 1,59%, follow Madrid (-0,77%) And London (-0,44%). This European debacle follows a bad day on Wall Street, which closed in the red and fueled global instability. The question is: is this a physiological "August" decline or indicative of a general change in the trend of the financial markets?
Latest stock market news: here are the causes of the declines
There are various concerns weighing on the markets. Among the main factors: the fear of one recession negli United States, interest rate uncertainties e le tensions geopolitics in Middle East. On Wall Street, i futures they retreat as markets wonder about the Federal Reserve's next moves, fearing that central banks may be too cautious in cutting rates for fear of a return of inflation. Today, the focus is on salary data unemployment in the United States, key indicators for assessing the health of the American economy.
Le quarterly of the big companies they intensified pessimism. Amazon published disappointing results and less than encouraging guidance for the current quarter, while Apple announced a growing and record-breaking third quarter, but the drop in sales in China "ruined" the enthusiasm. The worst is Intel which reported a loss of $1,61 billion in the second quarter and announced a maxi restructuring plan. Intel shares suffered a heavy drop of more than 20% after the stock market on Wall Street, dragging the entire sector with them.
The dark mood on Wall Street has also affected the markets Asian. The Tokyo Stock Exchange it closed with a heavy drop of 5,81%, the second most serious in its history, due to concerns about the American economy and the rise of the yen after the Bank of Japan's intervention on interest rates.
Istat: data on industrial production and retail trade in June
In June, the production painting it increased by 0,5% compared to May, but in the second quarter it fell by 0,8% compared to the previous three months. Compared to a year ago, production fell by 2,6% due to fewer working days, with a greater decrease for the crude index (-5,6%). As regards the sales al detail, there was a slight decrease in both value and volume (-0,2%) in June. Although there was a small increase in sales in value in the second quarter (+0,1%), volume fell by 0,1%. Compared to last year, sales decreased by 1% in value and 1,8% in volume, with a slight increase for food goods and a decrease for non-food goods.
Piazza Affari, banks in the red: the nightmare of the tax on extra profits returns
In Business Square, the climate is particularly negative. Azimuth collapsed more than 4% after the quarterly report, ending up at the bottom of the list, while STMicroelectronics lost 3,55% due to the collapse of Intel. The banking sector, already under pressure, is no exception: Banca Mps leads the declines with a loss of 3,38%, followed by Understanding St. Paul, Bper, Banco bpm e Popular of Sondrio, all with losses greater than 2%. The nervousness is fueled by the proposal of the "Solidarity Contribution", one new tax on banks' extra profits that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is considering. This measure, intended to replace the previous rule requiring banks to set aside extra profits as reserves, has raised strong concerns in the sector. There is also speculation that the tax could be extended to energy companies and insurance companies, fueling further tensions.
Among the energy actions, Enel e Eni they fell by 1,35% and 1,04% respectively. Among industrialists, Iveco loses 3,42%, stellantis 3,08% and Leonardo 2,92%. The only exceptions are Pirelli (+ 0,14%) and Ferrari (+0,08%), supported by positive quarterly results. At the top of the Ftse Mib, utilities such as Italgas, Snam e Terna they shine. More cautious Erg waiting for the next quarterly accounts.
Outside the main list there are sharp declines Ferretti e Fincantieri, After the appointment of Biagio Mazzotta as president of the board of directors.
The other markets
Lo spread between BTp and Bund is increasing, reaching 148 basis points compared to 142 the day before. The yield on the 3,65-year BTp rose slightly (XNUMX%). On the currency front, theeuro it rose to just above $1,08, on the bet that the data due out on the US labor market on Friday will force the Fed to be more incisive in cutting rates. The Petroleum is rising: Brent gains 0,25% but remains below 80 dollars a barrel and September WTI rises by 0,59% to 76,76 dollars, while the gas saw a drop to 36,48 euros per megawatt hour (-1,31%).
