Stock markets today 15 March, Milan and Europe down on the eve of the ECB meeting on rates – Corriere.it

The start of the session initially mixed and then marked by sales for the European stock market after the rebound on Tuesday 14 March, in the session on the eve of the meeting of the ECB which will have to decide on the new rate hike. The main squares such as Milan, Paris and London are down by about half a percentage point around 9.30 am, while Frankfurt is experiencing smaller but still negative losses. Around 10, pessimism prevails and the decline extends to +1.2 percent for the Ftse Mib. After having at least partially recovered the losses linked to the fears aroused by the bankruptcy of Svb, the stock exchanges are looking at the next appointments scheduled for the central banks. According to expectations, the ECB should confirm the announced rate hike of 50 basis points. Hong Kong closed the session in positive territory on the back of optimism on the containment of contagion on the financial markets of the US collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

Milan loses half a point

Piazza Affari opened fluctuating around parity, only to then take a negative course by half a percentage point half an hour after the markets opened. The opposing banks are on the Milanese list. Among the credit institutions, Unicredit and Bper are on the rise while Banco Bpm, Mps, Intesa and Fineco continue in negative territory. In energy Erg rises after the 2022 accounts with growing profit and the update of the plan. Among the other blue chips, Tim rose on the day of the board of directors which should give an initial response to the offer made by CDP and Macquarie.

China, industrial production disappoints

However, investor sentiment has not found much comfort in Chinese data. In the first two months of the year, retail sales returned to growth (+3.5% annually), but in line with forecasts, while the increase in industrial production in the same period (+2.4% annually) was slightly lower than expected. However, Chinese stock markets are showing rising indices supported by the recovery of the banks, while Tokyo closed flat. On the macroeconomic front, February data on producer prices and US retail sales are scheduled.

Oil and gas

Rebound for oil prices with Brent and WTI rising by more than one percentage point, respectively to 78.4 dollars a barrel in the May delivery and 72.3 dollars a barrel in the April deadline: the movement favored by the Opec. The OPEC report improved China’s crude oil demand forecast while keeping the global estimate unchanged due to risks of a slowdown in the global economy. The price of gas on the TTF in Amsterdam is stable at 44.3 euros per megawatt hour