Markets on both sides of the Atlantic were looking forward to consumer price data. In the euro zone, inflation rose to 5.5% in June from 6.1% in May, a slightly lower than expected reading and in line with core inflation (5.4%) which excludes energy and food.
In the United States, meanwhile, the index of personal consumption expenditure (PCE) fell to 3.8% from 4.3, while the “core” figure fell by just a tenth, beating expectations, to 4.6%.
Data that investors like overall. Milan’s Ftse Mib index is +1.10% today and +19.1% for the first half of the year. It is the best performer in Europe, mainly thanks to the rise in bank stocks (+26.7% for the Ftse All Share Banks Index year-to-date), which carry more weight on Piazza Affari than on the continent’s other lists. The auto sector is also above average (+33%), while energy stocks are down 1% since January 1st. At 28,270 points, the Ftse Mib index has reached its highest level since 2008. On the old continent, the indices of Madrid and Frankfurt follow, each +16%.
Today, among the shares of the Ftse Mib in Milan, the oil and gas shares are the most prominent: Erg (+3.77%) and Saipem (+3.58%), followed by two industrialists, Iveco and Prysmian. None of the 40 stocks in Borsa Italiana’s main basket are in the red.
In the United States, following the PCE inflation data, the CME “FedWatch Tool”, which calculates the probability of interest rate trends based on 30-day government bond prices, gives the following answers: 86% up 25 points from July, 69% a break in September. For the November and December sessions, there is around a 50% chance of rates being halted and around a 30% chance of another 25 basis point hike.
Of Wall Street’s three main indices, the Nasdaq gained the most at +1.65%, followed by the S&P500 (+1.17%) and the Dow Jones (+0.79%).