MILAN – Markets at half-service on the post-Christmas day, with trading reduced to a bare minimum and investors remaining in the midst of a trend in which the expectation for a rate cut by the Fed first and then the ECB dominates. An idea that also weakened the dollar. Piazza Affari remains closed, while in Asia Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia have stopped. Futures on Wall Street are positive, with traders ready to position themselves – Bloomberg recalls – for what is called the “Santa Claus rally”, i.e. a share growth that historically accompanies the indexes in the first days of the new year. Furthermore, the S&P500 has just returned from a streak of eight increases, the highest in five years, while the Treasury yield has fallen below 3.9%. In China there was an easing of the tightening of the online gaming sector, but the session was equally weak.
Key points
19:55
Oil is running
Oil prices are rising, with WTI aiming for 76 dollars a barrel (75.81 dollars, +3.17%) and Brent at 81.34 dollars (+2.87%), extending last week’s gains , although trading volume is expected to remain low due to the Christmas holidays. Investors continue to monitor geopolitical developments in the Middle East, as recent Houthi attacks on cargo ships have disrupted global trade. Meanwhile, Denmark’s Maersk said it was preparing to resume operations in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, following the formation of a multinational task force to protect commercial ships in the area.
19:54
Wall Street positive, Treasury yield down
Wall Street continues to rise in the first session of the last week of the year, as growing bets on interest rate cuts by the Fed have lifted investor sentiment after Christmas. The Dow Jones advanced by 0.32%, the S&P 500 by 0.31% and the Nasdaq gained 0.40%. Signs of cooling inflation have strengthened expectations of an accommodative turn in Fed monetary policy next year, pushing the S&P 500 close to its all-time closing high reached in January 2022. A close above this level will confirm that the index has been on a bull run since hitting bottom in October 2022.
Last Friday, US stocks closed higher after the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report showed that inflation continues to fall towards the Fed’s average annual target of 2%. After the PCE data, the three indexes also recorded their eighth consecutive weekly gains, the longest winning streak for the S&P 500 since late 2017. The US 10-year Treasury yield fell to 3.88% before stabilizing at 3. 9%
15:48
Wall Street: opens slightly higher, DJ +0.05% and Nasdaq +0.26%
The New York Stock Exchange opened the last week of the year slightly higher, after closing for holidays. The Dow Jones index rose by 0.05%, the Nasdaq by 0.26% and the S&P 500 by 0.16%. Expectations of an early rate cut by the Federal Reserve are driving the purchases.
12:39
Oil moved little amidst limited trade
Oil prices remain stable, finding support in geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and on the wave of investor optimism that the Federal Reserve will soon begin to cut interest rates. If money is cheaper, consumer financing costs are also reduced, which can stimulate economic growth and demand for oil. However, today’s session in a festive climate was affected by the limited number of trades and the narrow range of volumes. Brent now advances by 0.04% and changes hands at 79.10 dollars a barrel while WTI futures lose 0.11% and are traded at 73.48 dollars a barrel. Both oil benchmarks posted gains of around 3% last week after Houthi attacks on shipping disrupted global shipping and trade.
12:14
Francesco Profumo new president of the Entopan strategic and scientific steering committee
Francesco Profumo, former Minister of Research and current President of Compagnia di San Paolo and ACRI, is the new President of the Strategic and Scientific Steering Committee of Entopan Smart Networks & Strategies.
The Committee – communicates a note – will operate in support of the Harmonic Innovation Group Project, an important industrial initiative of international scope promoted by Entopan, which aims to make Calabria and the entire South a true Mediterranean hub of innovative development to support growth economic, sustainable and harmonious of the country and Europe, in a perspective of stable connection with the main global innovation ecosystems.
11:30
Repsol, Spanish Antitrust investigation
Spain’s National Commission for Markets and Competition is investigating Repsol on suspicion that it took advantage of its dominant position in the wholesale hydrocarbon market to increase the price of fuel purchased by independent or automatic petrol stations. After learning the news, Repsol “categorically” rejected the accusations and assured that the company “does not have a dominant position in the Spanish fuel market” and that it “strictly complies with competition rules”.
09:18
China releases its grip on gaming, after an 80 billion cyclone
Last year, the Chinese authorities had promised a strong crackdown on online gaming, triggering stock market losses of 80 billion dollars. But the Christmas approval of 105 games for the domestic market was seen by observers as a sign of reopening towards the sector, also because the list includes Tencent and NetEase: the very game publishers who had suffered the most from the backlash of the restrictive indications .
09:17
Japan, unemployment rate unchanged at 2.5%
The unemployment rate in Japan remained unchanged at 2.5% in November compared to the previous month and in line with estimates. The jobs/applicants ratio fell to 1.28 in the same month, slightly lower than October (1.30).
09:16
Slight increase for the Tokyo Stock Exchange
The Tokyo Stock Exchange closed trading slightly higher. The Nikkei marks +0.16% to 33,305 points. Many area stock exchanges are closed today for the holidays.
2023-12-26 19:04:47
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