European stock markets falling, oil above $100 and bond yields under pressure

European stock markets continue in negative territory while the bond market remains under pressure and the price of oil rises in the wake of uncertainty about developments in the situation in the Middle East.

London loses 1.1%, Paris 0.7%, Milan 0.6% and Frankfurt 0.2% while in New York futures are positive, supported by the above-expected accounts of Micron, the main US producer of memory chips, which confirms that demand linked to artificial intelligence is still robust.

There is high volatility on government bonds, whose yields, after having reached the highs in the morning, have now started to fall again despite the run-up in oil, with Brent returning above 100 dollars a barrel (+2.5% to 100.57 dollars) and the WTI rising by 1.9% to 92.2 dollars. The yields on ten-year BTPs lost three basis points, after having risen almost ten, to 4.58%, while the spread with the Bund closed slightly, to 105. Ten-year Treasuries also fell from their highs since 2002, to 5.28%, and British Gilts, the first among the sovereign bonds of a large country to have exceeded the 6% threshold, from their highest since 1998.

Poste Italiane (-2.5%) and banks slipped in Piazza Affari, led by Bpm (-2.1%), Mediobanca (-2%), Bper (-1.7%) and Mediolanum (-1.6%). In contrast, Fincantieri (+3.9%), Prysmian (+1.8%) and Campari (+1.8%) went against the trend.