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(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – In the last session of the quarter, European stock markets moved cautiously as they prepared for the Easter holidays. Attention is focused on the macroeconomic front to American GDP data even if the key day will be Friday 29 March, when the inflation data from France and Italybut above all the US PCE deflator, the Fed’s preferred measure for monitoring price movements. Precisely on the monetary policy front, investors’ optimism is growing for a rate cut at the beginning of the summer and in this sense signals could emerge again on Friday the 29th from the speech that the president of the Federal Reserve will give. Meanwhile, in Germany in February retail sales recorded a decline of 1.9% compared to the previous month and 2.7% on an annual basis.
Traveling so cautiously are the FTSE MIB of Milan, which is preparing to close the first quarter of 2024 at the top of its class, the CAC 40 of Paris, the DAX 30 of Frankfurt, the AEX of Amsterdam. The IBEX 35 of Madrid is below par.
Saipem is still rallying on Piazza Affari, after Braclays raised its target price from 2.50 to 2.90 euros, strengthening its “Overweight” rating. The banking sector is tonic with Banco Bpm and Banca Mps. Stmicroelectronics and Diasorin are at the bottom of the list.
Spread slightly rising to 133 points
The spread between BTp and bund rose slightly, which stood at around 133 basis points, compared to 132 points the day before. The yield of the benchmark ten-year BTp also increased, which started trading at 3.64%, compared to 3.61% at the previous closing.
Euro at 1.080 dollars, gas drops
On the currency market, the weakness of the euro continues, trading around 1.080 dollars (1.082 the day before). The price of oil rose slightly with May Brent above 86 dollars a barrel and the WTI of the same maturity approaching 82 dollars. Natural gas in Amsterdam is decreasing, standing at 27 euros per MWh.
