Start in sharp decline for Piazza Affari with the Ftse Mib index started trading down by 1.61% to 23,887 points. A strong start for the European stock exchanges, which are discounting the fears related to the spread of Covid in China and its impacts on global growth in a context of already great uncertainty and concern due to galloping inflation, monetary tightening and the war in Ukraine. Paris lost 1.98% at the start despite Emmanuel Macron’s victory in the French presidential elections, Frankfurt and London fell by 1.65%.
The spread between the BTPs and the German Bund widens to 172 basis points, almost three points more than the closing date on the eve of Italy despite the confirmation of Italy’s rating by S&P last Friday. Italian 10-year yields fell by 6 basis points to 2.602%, a decline in all sovereign government bonds, which were purchased by investors in a context of generalized flight from risky assets.
Fears about the economy due above all to the wave of Covid-19 sink the Chinese stock exchanges: the Composite index of Shanghais fell 5.13%, to 2,928.51 points, while that of Shenzhen lost 6.48%, collapsing to 1,790.03 points.
Oil in sharp decline on international markets in the wake of fears for the advance of Covid in China and the strategy implemented by Beijing to counter its spread, which risks having an impact on global growth and the Chinese giant’s demand for crude oil. The wti, the Texan crude oil, falls below 100 dollars a barrel (-3.3% to 98.8 dollars) while the North Sea brent loses 3.2% to 103.28 dollars. Over the weekend, Shanghai recorded a record death as Beijing authorities warned that the virus was “quietly spreading” and imposed mass testing in a district of the capital.
Raw materials collapse on international markets while the advance of Covid in China and the harsh response of the Beijing authorities are worrying investors about the demand for commodities, in a context already made uncertain by the price rush, monetary tightening and the war in Ukraine. Copper futures with delivery in May collapse on the Chinese market / Shanghai Future Exchange) by 8.4%, those on aluminum with delivery in June as much as 50% while those on iron by 48% at the Dalian commodity exchange, another Chinese commodity market.
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