Negative ending in Piazza Affari (-0.35%)

Weak session for European stock markets, with the Ftse Mib falling 0.35% to 30,077 points. Among the big names in Piazza Affari, Saipem (+2.85%), Campari (+2.45%) and Iveco Group (2.3%) closed in the black, while utilities Hera (-2.8%) and A2a fell (-2.6%). as well as Leonardo (-2.2%) and Ferrari (-2.1%).

Meanwhile, Wall Street is moving slightly lower, with the focus on quarterly reports. Tonight will see the release of the accounts of Netflix, which has now signed a deal worth $5 billion over 10 years to broadcast WWE wrestling. Also pay attention to the results of the Republican presidential primary in New Hampshire.

Meanwhile, operators continue to assess the prospects of central bank rate cuts, two days before the ECB meeting and ahead of the Fed meeting at the end of the month.

Previously, the Bank of Japan left its monetary policy unchanged, underlining that deflation expectations were firmly anchored in Japan. Governor Ueda said the central bank sees greater certainty of achieving the target, but it is difficult to say exactly when it will abandon the current ultra-loose monetary policy stance.

Turning to the macroeconomic agenda, the Eurozone consumer confidence indicator recorded an unexpected decline in January, coming in at -16.1 points versus the expected -14.3. In the US, the Richmond Fed’s manufacturing index fell to -15 points in January, worse than expected. PMI indices and US GDP for the fourth quarter are expected in the next few days.

In bonds, the BTP Bund spread widened to 156 basis points, with the Italian 10-year bond yield rising to 3.91% and the Bund yield rising to 2.34%, while the US 10-year Treasury bond yield rose to 4 .14%.

In commodities, Brent oil remains at around $80 a barrel with focus on ongoing tensions in the Middle East. The United States advises caution for ships transiting the Red Sea, but does not consider it necessary to suspend maritime traffic in the region.

In the foreign exchange market, the Euro/Dollar exchange rate fell to 1.083, while the Dollar/Yen recovered to 148.5 after the Boj meeting.