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European stock markets are preparing for a mixed opening, with futures on the EuroStoxx 50 marking -0.2% and those on the Ftse Mib at -0.4%. The contracts on the Paris Cac (+0.14%) and the Frankfurt Dax (+0.24%) were above parity.
Investors’ attention continues to be focused on the quarterly reporting season, now in full swing: this morning it was St’s turn, which announced a profit down 50.9% to 513 million. On the other side of the Atlantic it will be the turn of Alphabet and Microsoft, after a brilliant first quarter for Meta, which yesterday announced revenues above expectations. Remaining in the USA, yesterday’s session was flat on Wall Street, with the positive performance of the quarterly reports slowed down by the increase in Treasury bond yields.
On the macroeconomic front, data on the GDP for the first quarter of the United States are expected today: economists interviewed by Wall Street estimate an expansion of the economy of 2.2%, while tomorrow the PCE deflator, the measure of inflation, is expected preferred by the Fed, which could give indications on the next moves in the area of monetary policy.
In Tokyo, meanwhile, the Nikkei leaves more than 2 percentage points on the ground, with the yen falling to new 34-year lows, while the Bank of Japan has started its monetary policy meeting which will last two days. Markets expect the BoJ to remain steadfast after abandoning negative rates in March, but traders will be watching for any signs to combat the currency’s weakness.
On the currency market, the euro strengthens against the dollar and trades at 1.071. The single currency is also worth 166.73 yen, while the dollar/yen exchange rate is 155.64. Oil moved little, with June WTI at 82.97 dollars per barrel (+0.19%) and the similar delivery of Brent at 88.19 dollars (+0.19%). Natural gas in Amsterdam rose by 1.5%, trading at 29.4 euros per MWh.
