Overview of European stock exchanges
European stock exchanges opened the day cautiously, marking a negative trend in the last session of a week characterized by significant events such as the American elections and the Federal Reserve meeting. In particular, Piazza Affari positioned itself as the rear end, with the Ftse Mib registering a decline of 0.7%, falling to 33,740 points. Among the most affected stocks, there are Iveco (-2.7%), Stellantis (-2.6%), Banco Bpm (-2%) and Azimut (-2%). On the contrary, some stocks such as Pirelli (+2.3%) and MPS (+1.7%) showed signs of recovery after the publication of
the quarterly results.
Impact of the Fed on the markets
Yesterday, the Federal Reserve announced an interest rate cut by 25 basis points, as widely expected by analysts. The president of the Fed, Jerome Powell, reassured the market about the stability of the institution, stating that he is ready to resist any political pressure, especially following the re-election of Donald Trump. Powell stressed that the next president of the United States will not have the power to fire him or other senior Fed executives, a statement that has helped to stabilize market expectations
.
Analysis of macroeconomic data
Today is poor in macroeconomic ideas, with the focus on data on industrial production and retail sales in Italy, in addition to the confidence of US consumers measured by the University of Michigan. European bond yields are falling, with the Btp-Bund spread standing at 128 basis points.
The Italian 10-year period saw a decrease of 3.67%, while the German benchmark was 2.39%.
Commodity and currency trends
In the commodities market, Brent oil slipped below 75 dollars per barrel, while gold lost ground, falling to 2,684 dollars an ounce. In the currency market, the euro/dollar exchange rate fell to 1.077, while the dollar/yen depreciated to 152.8. Cryptocurrencies have also shown signs of weakness, with Bitcoin standing at around 76,000 dollars
.
Business results and future forecasts
The Unipol board of directors approved the accounts for the first nine months of 2024, showing a profit down 6%. However, MPS recorded robust growth, with net profit increasing 68.6% year-on-year to 1,566 million euros. These results suggest a mixed landscape for European companies, with some managing to thrive despite global economic uncertainties
.