(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – The first steps forward in the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, after weeks of diplomatic stalemate, galvanize the European stock exchanges, who show their belief in the turning point in the negotiations to reach a ceasefire. Starting from the start, the indexes of the Old Continent accelerated towards the middle of the day and closed with a sharp rise, albeit below the highs reached at conclusion of the interviews among the representatives of Kiev and Moscow in Turkey. Thus, the FTSE MIB of Milan, on CAC 40 of Paris, on DAX 40 in Frankfurt, the Ftse 100 in London, theIBEX 35 of Madrid andAEX in Amsterdam. Wall Street is also positive.
European equities have lengthened their pace after the parties spoke of “a constructive dialogue”, with the Russian side opening up to a reduction in military activity to favor peace talks, while Kiev has softened its position on the neutrality, in exchange for adequate guarantees. All this paves the way for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, considered possible by Moscow.
With oil in free fall, and the WTI dropped below one hundred dollars a barrel at times, investors immediately came to terms with the new geopolitical scenario, which led to rapid gains on the main European defense stocks, concentrating purchases on institutions. credit and big auto, among the sectors most penalized so far due to their exposure to Russia.
Two-speed Moscow Exchange
Two-speed session for the Moscow Stock Exchange, already closed when the first news on the outcome of the talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey arrived. The Moex, the reference index denominated in rubles, finished down 0.91% to 2,408.49 points, while the RTS, denominated in dollars, gained 7.11% to 881.59 points. All Russian stocks and international stocks of the Moex Russian index are available for trading in the main trading mode (central order book) from 10am to 2pm local time. For international bonds, this is the first return to trading since the end of February. Even today, short sales in stock were not allowed. Trading hours extended for corporate bonds.
The ruble accelerates on the euro and the dollar, to a maximum since the beginning of the war
The ruble accelerates further on the euro and dollar. The Russian currency was already rising from the start, after Russia confirmed the payment of the 102 million dollar coupon of the bond maturing in 2035 and notified the repayment, scheduled for next week, of a 2 billion bond. dollars. The ruble, which gains 8.4% on the single currency and 10.4% on the greenback and reaches its highest levels since the beginning of the war, is the encouraging news coming from the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Specifically, the ruble is trading at 86 for one dollar (91.5 at start) and at 95.61 for one euro (102 at start).
