Europe in red and Milan in black, uncertainty weighs on Russia – Corriere.it

European stock markets down after a timid opening. Black jersey for Business Square which, due to the decline of the banks and the decline of Leonardo (-4.6%), it is among the worst at -0.8%. Paris (-0.27%), Frankfurt (-0.29%), Madrid (-0.2%), Amsterdam (-0.23%) and London at -0.11% were also bad. (Here the trend in real time)

The Russia factor

Traders are risk-averse after the weekend filled with geopolitical news out of Russia, which is of concern and closely monitored. The EU Foreign Affairs Council on Ukraine is awaited (today in Brussels): after the weekend escalation with the march on Moscow by mercenaries from the Wagner Brigade led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, tensions eased when the blitz failed (the Moscow Stock Exchange is heading towards a lower start, with futures currently down by about one point).

Investors then look to the central banks, after last week’s aggressive choices, useful indications could come from the ECB Forum which opens today in Sintra and will end on Wednesday 28 June. Meanwhile the ruble collapses after the attempted coup in Russia over the weekend, which raises questions about the stability of Vladimir Putin’s regime. Moscow’s currency fell about 2% to 87 to the dollar, the weakest level since March last year, in the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to Bloomberg, banks had valued it at up to $100 on Saturday before backing off when Prigozhin halted his advance on Moscow.

Business Square

Weakness of bank shares on the list that monetize recent gains, with Monte Paschi -2.3%, Bper -2.6%, Intesa -1.2%, Bpm -1.9%, Unicredit -1.5%. The other financials are also down. Among the other blue chips, Leonardo loses 4.6%. Shares holding up better in energy with Eni and Enel on parity and Snam on +0.2%. Down Tim on -1.8%, Cnh -2.1%.

Euros and currencies

On the currency markets, the euro is trying to raise its head against the greenback after Friday’s collapse (in which it lost up to 1% in its largest daily drop since mid-March) on concerns about the potential economic impact of higher interest rates on the Eurozone economy. The latest PMI data revealed a sharp slowdown in German private sector growth in June, while French business activity contracted for the first time in five months. At the start of the week, the single currency changed hands at 1.0900 dollars (+0.11%) and 156.39 yen (-0.09%). Dollar/yen down to 143.44 (-0.16%).

Asian stocks close with losses

Closing down for the Tokyo Stock Exchange with the index Nikkei losing 0.25% to 32,698.81 points. Contrasted trend for the Asian markets, after the `rebellion´, then returned, by the Wagner group in Russia and the negative closure of Wall Street last Friday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index loses 0.42% to 18,810.04, while the Shanghai Composite, which reopened after the holidays, fell by 1.48% to 3,150.62 points. The Australian ASX 200 index dropped 0.29% to 7,078.70 points. Positive sign instead for the Kospi of South Korea which gains 0.47% to 2,582.20 points