The macroeconomic events calendar for the coming days is indeed interesting and will see no less than five monetary policy decisions by central banks and a series of delayed US economic data releases.
Among central banks, next Thursday the ECB and the BoE are expected to announce unchanged rates and a 25 basis point cut, respectively, while on Friday it will be the turn of the Japanese central bank, which is expected to raise the cost of money by a quarter of a point.
On the data front, US labor market figures for October and November are expected tomorrow, while Thursday will see the release of the November inflation estimate.
"Risk appetite and volumes are traditionally low at this time of year, but given the data/events calendar, the conditions seem to be in place for a certain amount of volatility," commented MPS strategists in their daily note.
European sentiment this morning is also being buoyed by signs of recovery in US futures after a week marked by uncertainty.
At around 12:55 p.m., the FTSE MIB was up 1.3%, driven mainly by banks and luxury goods. However, volumes were not impressive, with a value of around €1 billion.
Stocks in the spotlight:
** In a European luxury sector that is well bought, thanks in part to expectations of new measures that China intends to introduce to support key sectors of its economy, CUCINELLI stands out in Milan with a 3% rise, MONCLER at +2% and, outside the main index, FERRAGAMO at +3.3%.
** After Friday's slowdown, which did not prevent the sector from closing the week with a positive balance of almost 3%, banks resumed their positive trend. In particular, MPS, BPER, and BANCO BPM rose by more than 2%.
** STELLANTIS confirmed last week's rebound, rising 1.9% ahead of the European Commission's expected announcement tomorrow that it will lift the effective ban on the sale of new combustion engine cars from 2035.
** Positive market sentiment also extends to the industrial sector, with BUZZI and INTERPUMP up 2.9% and 2.3%, respectively. PRYSMIAN rose 2.6% after Jefferies confirmed its 'Buy' rating, raising the target price to €104 from €102.
** Among the few stocks in the red on the FTSE MIB, DIASORIN lost 2%, penalized by Morgan Stanley's downgrade to 'equal weight' accompanied by a drastic cut in the target price to €63 from the previous €99.
** The pink jersey of the entire Milan stock exchange goes to JUVENTUS, which jumped more than 13% after Tether made an offer, later rejected by Exor, for the club, valuing it at over €1 billion. Even at its session high of €2.498, Juventus shares remained below the price offered by Tether, which, according to sources, is €2.66 per share.
(Andrea Mandalà, editing Gianluca Semeraro)
