MILANO – European stock exchanges closed weakly, exhausting the thrust that had come at the opening from the new records, last night, on Wall Street: during the session, optimism gave way to concern. The Delta variant is still conditioning the moods of the markets, the spread of which risks slowing down the pace of the recovery of the world economy. The data on the job market in the US, better than expected, thus took a back seat: in May there were 692,000 new jobs in the private sector, far exceeding analysts’ expectations for a growth of 475,000 units.
Wall Street moves uncertain: at the close of EU trade, the Dow Jones is up by 0.4%, the S&P 500 is unchanged while the Nasdaq is in fractional decline. Negative closures, as mentioned, in Europe: London moves back by 0.67%, Frankfurt yields 0.99% e Paris 0.91 per cent. It does not escape the trend too Milano: the Ftse Mib index rises from its lows but ends at -1.01%. It stands out Unipol, better than the main price list even after the completion of purchases by Koru (vehicle owned by Coop Alleanza 3.0 which is the largest shareholder of the insurance group, Cefla, Cooperare, Nova Coop, Aurum and Copura). The company acquired only 7.44 million shares, less than the initial intentions, equal to 1% of the capital: the price paid was 34.2 million euros. Among the individual stocks, we note the drop (-13%) of Safilo which is priceless at the start of the day after the decision of the board of directors to call the shareholders’ meeting to vote on a capital increase against payment, for a maximum value of 135 million. When it enters trading, the stock loses in double digits.
Investors also weigh the slight slowdown in manufacturing activity, thought of by a series of disruptions in supply chains and a Covid outbreak in a major manufacturing region, with the SME index standing at 50.9 in June compared to to 51 in May but in any case above the 50.8 expected by analysts. In Asia Tokyo it closed down at -0.07%, despite an improvement in consumer confidence in the current month. Weak too Hong Kong which lost 0.57%.
L’euro closed down below $ 1.19. The European currency changes hands at 1.1868 dollars and 131.57 yen. Dollar / yen rises to 110.85. “Virus concerns around the world are supporting blue chip stocks,” said Jeffrey Halley, an analyst at Oanda. Like the dollar, often viewed as a safe haven asset. After two and a half months of decline, Covid contamination is on the rise in Europe, mainly due to the Delta variant in the UK and Russia, where it is causing new outbreaks. The spread between BTP and German Bund it closed slightly down to 103 basis points, compared to 105 points at yesterday’s closing. The yield of the Italian 10-year is stable at 0.82%. To report the Istat data on inflation in June, while the Confindustria released the flash note on the economic situation, recording the improvement in GDP prospects.
The price of the Petroleum, on the eve of the OPEC meeting which should give the green light to an increase in production. Barrel prices continue to rise sharply after data on US inventories, which fall beyond expectations. In New York, Light crude Wti increased by 1% to 73.74 dollars and those on Brent by 0.68% to 75.25 dollars a barrel.
There is expectation for tomorrow’s OPEC + meeting to decide its production levels starting in August. Investors are currently aiming for a small increase of 500,000 barrels per day. OPEC + intends to discuss a possible extension beyond April 2022 of its current oil supply agreement. In practice, the producing countries could decide to extend the times of the previously agreed production increases.
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