Table of Contents:
Trend of European stock exchanges
The European stock exchanges opened the day with a mostly cautious attitude, in particular at Piazza Affari, where the Ftse Mib recorded an increase of 0.6%, reaching 34,950 points. Among the stocks in evidence, Brunello Cucinelli gained 5.3% after revising its revenue forecasts upwards, now expected to grow between 11% and 12%, compared to the previous 10%.
In contrast, Prysmian showed a slight decline, falling by 0.6%.
Waiting for the ECB meeting
Investors’ focus is on today’s meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB), which is expected to decide to cut interest rates by 25 basis points. In addition, a possible change in the restrictive language adopted so far is expected. The updated macroeconomic projections and statements by President Christine Lagarde will be closely scrutinized, as they could influence
future rate expectations.
Inflation and rates in the United States
Data on producer prices in the United States is also scheduled to be released today, following the recent inflation report. The latter confirmed expectations, showing an acceleration to 2.7% and a stable core CPI at 3.3%. These data reinforced expectations of a possible rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week, even though forecasts for further reductions in 2025 have been significantly revised downwards in
recent weeks.
Bond markets and commodities
In the bond market, the Btp-Bund spread widened to 108 basis points, with the Italian 10-year yield set at 3.24% and that of the German benchmark at 2.16%. As far as raw materials are concerned, Brent oil saw an increase, reaching 73.8 dollars per barrel, despite the cut in OPEC‘s demand estimates for 2024 and 2025. Gold also regained its share, returning to 2,717 dollars
an ounce.
Trend of currencies and cryptocurrencies
In the currency market, the euro/dollar exchange rate fell to 1.052, while the dollar/yen remained stable at 152.6. Among cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin continues to hold a value of more than 100,000 dollars, demonstrating some resilience despite market fluctuations
.
