The end of the session of the European stock exchanges remains little moved, as it has been all day. Among the European markets, Frankfurt moves below parity with a decline of 0.35%. London remains stable, without significant variations, while Paris records a moderate contraction, with a decline of 0.21%. Milan closes instead on parity.
In addition to the attention paid to central bank decisions, markets are also watching banking consolidation, although it is not significantly impacting the stock market at the moment. Among the highlighted stocks, Unicredit is up 0.56%, Commerzbank is up 0.3%, while Deutsche Bank, which could be involved in the operations, is down 0.3%. Unipol flies with a rise of 6.4%reaching 10.11 euros, after Mediobanca started covering the stock with a target price of 14 euros, implying a potential increase of 47% compared to the last close. Saipem closes positively with a +4.88% thanks to a new order in Qatar.
Many plus signs, but also different minus signs: Stm And Campari close in red respectively at -3.36% And -2.56%, the first in the wake of the US tech giants and the second for the decline already reported last Friday for the statements of the CEO, Matteo Fantacchiotti, who was cautious on the trend in the spirits sector for the third quarter and the end of the year. Ferrari is suffering, showing a loss of 2.02%, and Amplifon is under par, showing a reduction of 1.41%.
Stock Market 12:00: European Stock Exchanges Uncertain, but Piazza Affari Accelerates Upward Thanks to Saipem
Milan continues to remain positive: at 12 it is at +0.11% reaching 33.590,16 points. Among the main titles, the following stand out: Saipem (+3.43%), Unicredit (+1.87%), General (+1.99%) and Unipol (+1.68%).
The euro gained 0.43% to $1.112, following Italian inflation data for August, which showed a 0.2% increase on a monthly basis and a 1.1% increase on an annual basis, compared to 1.3% in the previous month. Istat attributed the slowdown to the worsening of the year-on-year decline in energy prices (-6.1% compared to -4% in July), confirming the preliminary estimate. Acquired inflation for 2024 is +1.1% for the general index and +2.1% for the core component.
The other European stock markets, on the other hand, are doing less well: Frankfurt continues to travel in negative territory at -0.32%, while Paris is slightly better at -0.02%.
Stock Market 9am: Markets uncertain, caution at Piazza Affari awaiting Fed and Bank of England
The bags European open lower, with Frankfurt losing 0.33%, Paris 0.20% and London 0.07%. The only positive for now Milan, which had opened in decline but is now slowly rising: at 9.45, it is at +0.06% at 33,603 points. US futures are slightly negative, with the Dow Jones down 0.06% and the S&P 500 down 0.09%. After the recent 25 basis point interest rate cut by the ECB, attention is now focused on the Fed’s decision.
Piazza Affari moves little, held back by banks
At Piazza Affari, the stock that recorded the greatest increase in the morning was Saipem, with an increase of 4.32% and a value of 1,944 euros, thanks to an offshore EPC contract that was awarded in Qatar worth approximately 4 billion dollars. Also doing well Unicredit at 1.37% reaching 37.41 euros, still in the spotlight after the purchase of 9% of Commerzbank with the intention of rising further, while General gained 1.11%, with a value of 25.45 euros; the latter has decided to promote a voluntary public purchase offer aimed at acquiring all the ordinary shares in circulation of the investment bank Intermonte.
Looking at the other increases, Unipol saw an increase of 0.79%, reaching 9.58 euros, and Moncler rose 0.35% to 51.18 euros. Erg and Brunello Cucinelli both rose 0.24% to 25.16 euros and 85.15 euros, respectively. Telecom Italia rose 0.16% to 0.2466 euros, while Eni and Italgas both rose 0.10% to 14.022 euros and 5.26 euros, respectively.
The stocks that saw the biggest losses this morning included STMicroelectronics, which saw a decrease of 1.26%, falling to 25,435 euros. Interpump Group fell 1.24% to 38.22 euros, while Azimut lost 1.04% to 21.90 euros. Tenaris fell 1.01% to 12.715 euros, and Iveco Group fell 0.93% to 8.782 euros.
Poste Italiane saw a reduction of 0.63%, falling to 12.545 euros, while Nexi fell by 0.58%, with a price of 6.118 euros. Banca Popolare di Sondrio saw a decrease of 0.52%, reaching 6.74 euros, and Intesa Sanpaolo decreased by 0.49%, with a value of 3.7365 euros. Finally, Stellantis lost 0.48%, falling to 13.548 euros.
Fed Meeting Anticipation and More: What to Expect
Then begins a decisive week for the markets, with particular attention paid to central banks. The meeting of the Federal Reserve, which is expected to announce the first rate cut. Thursday will be the turn of the Bank of England, while the meeting will be held on Friday Bank of Japan. Attention is particularly focused on the FOMC, which could confirm the rate cut announced in Jackson Hole at the end of August. This long-awaited signal could mark the end of the emergency phase linked to inflation and the beginning of a new phase of the economic cycle, characterized by more moderate growth. For this reason, the markets could adopt a cautious attitude this week, awaiting the decisions of the three central banks.
Reason why European markets remain cautious: Frankfurt moves below parity at -0.33%, London also falls to -0.07% while Paris records a contraction of 0.20%.
Spread at 137 points
Stable opening for the spread between BTp and Bund. At the start of the session, the yield differential between the benchmark 10-year BTp and the German Bund of the same duration remained at 137 basis points, the same level as Friday’s close. The yield on the benchmark 10-year BTP fell slightly, settling at 3.50%, down from 3.52% at the previous close.
