Major European markets close with gains and the euro exceeds 1.08 dollars

FRANKFURT, Germany.— Europe’s major markets closed with gains on Wednesday, with Milan’s stock market gaining 1.43 percent, while the euro rose above $1.08.

The euro exceeds 1.08 dollars

The euro rose to break through the 1.08 dollar barrier following it became known that the Consumer price index (CPI) of USA fell by one-tenth in May, to 3.3%.

The single currency was trading at $1.0846 at 3:00 p.m. GMT on Wednesday, up from $1.0727 in the last hours of Tuesday.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has set the exchange rate at $1.0765.

Meanwhile, ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos reiterated on Wednesday in London that the institution cannot commit to a predetermined path of interest rates due to the current enormous uncertainty.

The ECB also announced today that the euro remained the second most important currency globally in 2023, despite the fact that its share of global foreign exchange reserves fell by one percentage point to 20%, its lowest level since the pandemic.

In addition, inflation in Germany has been confirmed to have risen slightly once more in May, to 2.4%, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) in preliminary figures.

Milan Stock Exchange closes with a rise of 1.43%

The Milan Stock Exchange closed higher and its selective index FTSE MIB rose by 1.43% to 34,358.83 points, influenced by the results of the European markets following the US inflation data was released, which was lower than expected.

The FTSE Italia All-Share index rose 1.43% to 36,583.60 points.

Some 628 million shares worth around 2.525 billion euros changed hands during the session.

The best performer in the selective index was the company STMicroelectronics, which added 3.28%, followed by the car manufacturer Ferrari (3%), the energy company A2a (2.86%) and the bank Mediolanum (2.75%).

The stocks that closed in the red were Telecom, down 2.11%; the security and defence company Leonardo, down 1.93%; the metallurgical company Tenaris, down 0.97%; and the energy company ENI, down 0.33%.

DAX 40 advances by 1.42%

The main index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the DAX 40, has advanced by 1.42% and has recovered the 18,600 point mark.

The DAX 40 closed at 18,630.86 points, a session in which it remained below 18,400 points due to falls in the automotive sector, but recovered following the publication of the US consumer price index (CPI).

In line with the DAX 40, the MDAX index for medium-sized companies has advanced by 1.19% to 26,772.92 points, while the TecDAX technology index has risen by 0.96% to 3,461.59 points.

At the local level, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) has confirmed that inflation in Germany rose once more in May, to 2.4%, as indicated in preliminary figures.

In terms of stocks, cement company Heidelberg Material led the session on the main German index, following advancing 4.33%; followed by technology company SAP (3.42%) and industrial group Siemens (3.27%).

German carmakers, on the other hand, led the losses, with five of the six companies losing the most, on a day when Brussels informed China of its intention to impose a tariff of up to 38.1% on the import of electric vehicles.

Against this backdrop, Porsche SE lost 7.18%, Porsche AG 1.79%, Volkswagen 1.48%, BMW 0.96% and Mercedes-Benz 0.9%.

CAC-40 up 0.97%

The main index of the Paris Stock Exchange, the CAC-40, closed with a gain of 0.97%, following three sessions of decline.

The Parisian stock market, which closed at 7,864.70 points (29 values in green and 11 in red), thus recorded its first rise of the week, marked by political instability in France due to the early elections announced by French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, following the historic rise of the far right in the European elections.

Industrial group Schneider Electric led the gains, up 4.76%, followed by semiconductor manufacturer STMicroelectronics (3.27%) and electrical components group Legrand (2.43%).

On the other hand, the telecommunications operator Orange suffered a depreciation of 2.67%.

London Stock Exchange up 0.83%

The London Stock Exchange closed Wednesday’s session with general gains, rising 0.83% on the same day that a quarterly increase in the United Kingdom’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was announced.

The main London index, the FTSE-100, rose 67.67 points to 8,215.48 points, while the secondary index, the FTSE-250, rose 230.55 points, or 1.14%, to 20,497.40 points.

The data coincided with a 0.7% rise in UK GDP in the three months to the end of April compared with the previous quarter, although in April GDP was flat at 0.0%, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Among the day’s winners was Rentokil Initial, which gained 13.73% following investor Nelson Peltz of the US management group Trian Partners bought into the company in order to increase its value, according to media such as the British ‘Financial Times’.

Also among the gainers were the financial company St. James’s Place, which increased the value of its shares by 4.92%, and the construction supplier Howden Joinery Group, which rose by 4.07%.

On the other side of the scale, the financial group Legal & General was down 5.47%, followed by the retailer B&M European Value Retail, which fell 2.41%, and the telecommunications group Vodafone, which fell 1.57%.

The Spanish stock market rises by 0.63%

The Spanish stock market rose by 0.63%, boosted by the advance of the European markets and Wall Street, following inflation in the United States fell slightly in May, according to market data.

The main indicator of the Spanish stock market, the IBEX 35, gained 69.9 points to 11,245.4. This year, it has accumulated an increase of 11.32%.

Among the major Spanish stocks, BBVA fell by 2.54%; oil company Repsol by 0.97%; Telefónica by 0.91% (fifth); and Banco Santander by 0.14%.

In contrast, textile giant Inditex rose by 2.2% and electricity company Iberdrola by 1.04%.

The Spanish stock market posted moderate gains for most of the session and struggled to break away from the 11,200-point level until news broke of a two-tenths drop in the underlying US consumer price index in May to 3.4% year-on-year; the headline rate fell by one-tenth to 3.3%.

This boosted Wall Street’s opening and favoured the final result of the Spanish market.

You may also like: “The US Federal Reserve keeps interest rates unchanged”