Milan – At the beginning of this week, the price chart was weak and the Asian market had no particular ideas, waiting for the French election and Some data on inflationwill arrive in the next few days, which may give some Better reflect the trajectory of global interest ratesThe debates in the US presidential election and the UK election are also among the political events that investors are closely watching.
They seem particularly nervous about the trajectory of French debt, which is already seeing its highest yields since 2012, as far as we can tell. The uncertainty mainly affects Italy.
The general caution is starting to be felt on Wall Street, too, with losses on Friday leaving markets wondering how long the rally in U.S. stocks can last. The Fed’s preferred inflation measure It should show the slowest monthly increase since late last year, which would be a good starting point for cutting U.S. funding costs.
Yen falls sharply as government prepares to intervene
The yen fell below the psychological 160 level against the dollar (159.70) and to 170.84 against the euro. The sharp depreciation of the yen triggered a response from the government, which said it was ready to “intervene in the currency market 24 hours a day if necessary,” according to Bloomberg. Masato Kanda, Japan’s vice finance minister, said that if currency fluctuations “are excessive, they will have a negative impact on the national economy.” He added: “If excessive flows appear based on speculation, we are ready to take appropriate measures.”
Oil prices were stable at the start of the week. The WTI crude oil contract changed hands at $80.69 per barrel (-0.05%); the North Sea Brent crude oil price was $85.19 per barrel (-0.06%).
Tokyo stocks closed higher, supported by the yen’s weakness against the dollar following a drop on Wall Street. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.54% to 38,804.65, while the Topix gained 0.57% to 2,740.19.
The spread between BTPs and German Bunds started to move slowly. The spread between the two government bonds fell to 152 pips at the opening, compared to 153 pips the day before. The Italian 10-year bond yield fell to 3.92%, compared to 3.93% at the close on Friday.