Stock markets in Western Europe are falling during trading on Monday amid persistent concerns about high inflation and rising interest rates in the world’s leading economies.
The composite index of the largest companies in the region Stoxx Europe 600 fell by 1.26% by 11:41 a.m. to 382.97 points.
The German DAX fell 1.3%, the French CAC 40 fell 1.4%. The Italian FTSE MIB and the Spanish IBEX 35 are down 0.9% and 0.7% respectively.
The British stock index FTSE 100 is down 1% after the international rating agency S&P Global Ratings changed to “negative” from “stable” the outlook for the long-term ratings of the UK. The ratings themselves have been affirmed at ‘AA’.
As reported, the UK government at the end of September unveiled a tax cut plan in addition to its previously announced measures to provide widespread support to households to pay their electricity bills. As a result, according to S&P analysts, the country’s budget deficit will increase annually by an average of 2.6% of GDP until the end of 2025.
Investors also evaluate European statistics.
As it became known on Monday from the final data of S & P, the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) in the manufacturing sector of the eurozone economy in September fell to 48.4 points from 49.6 points a month earlier. Preliminary data indicated a slightly more moderate decline – to 48.5 points.
In Germany, the manufacturing PMI fell to 47.8 from 49.1, in France it fell to 47.7 from 50.6, and in Italy the indicator rose to 48.3 from 48.
Shares of Credit Suisse fell 9% on Monday, despite statements from the head of the Swiss bank Ulrich Körner about the stability of the company’s finances. The bank’s management is expected to present a business reorganization plan at the end of October.
The price of shares of the French company Vinci is reduced by 0.8%, although earlier the company announced the receipt of two contracts for the construction of power transmission lines in Brazil for a total of 1.06 billion euros.
The capitalization of the British energy company Genel Energy is growing by 3.9%. The company announced the appointment of Paul Ware as its chief executive officer. Since June, he has held this position on a temporary basis.
ABB Ltd stock quotes. fell 7% after the Swedish-Swiss electrical equipment maker announced it had completed the spin-off of its Accelleron turbocharger business.
The decline leaders in the Stoxx 600 index, in addition to Credit Suisse, are Danske Bank (-8%) and tour operator Carnival Plc (-7.9%). Among the growth leaders are shares of salmon producer Bakkafrost (+8.3%), Swedish oil and gas company Orron Energy (+6.6%) and Norwegian Aker BP ASA (+5.5%).
The Japanese yen is depreciating against the US dollar on Monday morning.
The US dollar exchange rate against the yen at 8:56 am CST was 144.8 yen compared to 144.72 yen on Friday. During the session, the yen fell below 145 yen per $1, which could provoke the Japanese government to conduct foreign exchange intervention for the second time this year, writes Bloomberg.
The Japanese currency fell to 145.9 yen per dollar on September 22, after which the country’s Ministry of Finance decided to intervene in the foreign exchange market for the first time in 24 years. In total, authorities spent 2.84 trillion yen ($19.65 billion) in September to support the national currency, the ministry said.
The weakening of the yen comes against the backdrop of the Bank of Japan maintaining a loose monetary policy, while other central banks of the world have begun to tighten it due to inflation, beating multi-year records. In total, the yen has lost 21% since the beginning of the year.
“The yen is at risk of further depreciation as long as the BOJ’s yield curve control remains status quo and other central banks, including the Fed, continue to tighten or normalize policy,” said Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. strategist. Christopher Wong.
Meanwhile, the ICE index, which shows the dynamics of the US dollar against six currencies (the euro, the Swiss franc, the yen, the Canadian dollar, the pound sterling and the Swedish krona), is down 0.27%, the broader WSJ Dollar is down 0.29%.
The euro/dollar pair is trading at $0.9822 compared to $0.9802 at the close of the session on Friday, the euro adds 0.2%.
The pound rose 0.7% to $1.1246 compared to $1.1168 at the close of the previous session.
Kryvyi Rih Mining and Metallurgical Plant PJSC “ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih” (AMKR, Dnipropetrovsk region) at its coke chemical division in January-August of this year reduced the production of metallurgical coke by 62.6% compared to the same period last year – up to 740 thousand tons .
A representative of the company told Interfax-Ukraine that in August the company produced 44,000 tons of metallurgical coke.
At the same time, in January-August 2022, the production of 6% moisture gross coke at AMKR amounted to 851 thousand tons, including 51 thousand tons in August.
Coke production at ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih for 8 months-2021 increased by 12.1% – up to 1.976 million tons, including 260 thousand tons in August last year.
In January-August 2022, 263 thousand tons of domestically produced coal, 390 thousand tons from Russia (before the war), 65 thousand tons from Kazakhstan, 27 thousand tons from Poland, 15 thousand tons from the Czech Republic, 208 thousand tons from the USA and 134 thousand tons from Australia. In August, AMKR delivered 48,000 tons of domestic coal, 18,000 tons from the United States, and 8,000 tons from Australia.
As reported, in January-August this year, Ukrainian Coke Plants reduced the production of gross coke with 6% moisture by 55.2% compared to the same period last year, to 2.94 million tons. Including for 8 months-2022, the production of metallurgical coke amounted to 2.52 million tons. At the same time, 257.7 thousand tons of gross coke were produced in August, including 221 thousand tons of metallurgical coke.
Ukraine in 2021 reduced the production of coke by 1.3% compared to 2020 – to 9.543 million tons.
“ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih” is the largest producer of rolled steel in Ukraine. It specializes in the production of long products, in particular rebar and wire rod.
ArcelorMittal owns the largest mining and metallurgical plant in Ukraine, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, and a number of small companies, in particular, PJSC ArcelorMittal Berislav.
Asian stock markets, which are traded on Monday, demonstrate multidirectional dynamics.
Exchanges in mainland China are closed due to the holidays on the occasion of the Day of the founding of the PRC, South Korea – on the occasion of the Day of the founding of the state.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 rose 0.5% by 8:26 a.m. despite weak statistics.
The Tankan Index, which assesses the level of confidence in the Japanese economy among large companies in the processing industry, fell to its lowest level in six quarters in July-September (since January-March 2021).
The value of the indicator fell to 8 points compared to 9 points in the second quarter of this year, the Bank of Japan said. A positive index value means that the percentage of respondents who consider the business environment favorable is higher than the share of those who do not.
Analysts on average predicted an increase in the indicator in the past quarter to 11 points, according to the results of surveys by Quick and Trading Economics.
The index declined for the third quarter in a row. This reflects, among other things, the growing costs of enterprises, the depreciation of the yen, as well as the restrictions imposed by China due to COVID-19.
The top three in terms of the rate of rise in quotes on Monday consists of shares of transport companies: Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. (+4.8%), Nippon Yusen K.K. (+4.6%) and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd (-4.2%).
In addition, the price of securities of investment and technology SoftBank Group (+1.6%), consumer electronics manufacturer Sony (+1.5%), automotive Nissan Motor (+1.3%) and Toyota Motor (+3.2%) is rising. ).
The most significant decline in value shows papers of electricity producers, including Kansai Electric Power Co. (-6.5%), Chubu Electric Power Co. (-4.1%) and Tokyo Electric Power Co. (-3.9%), as well as retailer Seven & I Holdings Co. (-4.5%).
The value of the manufacturer of consoles and video games Nintendo fell by 1.1%. The company did a 10-for-1 stock split over the weekend.
The Hong Kong Hang Seng index lost 1.8% by 8:31 am KSK. It is at its lowest level in the last eleven years.
The stock prices of New World Development Co., a developer, are declining most significantly on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. (-7.4%) and Ping An Insurance (-5.2%).
The papers of online retailer JD.com (-3.7%), HSBC bank (-3.3%), automotive BYD (-2.5%) are also getting cheaper.
The Australian S&P/ASX 200 index has decreased by 0.3% since the market opened.
In particular, the price of shares of technology companies Xero Ltd (-2.7%), Computershare (-0.9%) and Wisetech Global (-1.2%) decreased.
Oil prices are rising steadily on Monday morning after falling in September and the third quarter.
OPEC+ countries are considering cutting oil production by more than 1 million barrels per day, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing participants in an alliance meeting to be held on October 5.
The price of December futures for Brent crude on the London ICE Futures exchange by 8:05 am CST on Monday is $87.29 per barrel, which is $2.15 (2.53%) higher than the closing price of the previous session. As a result of trading last Friday, these contracts fell in price by $2.04 (2.3%) to $85.14 per barrel. November futures, which expired on Friday, stood at $87.96 a barrel, down 53 cents (0.6%).
Brent ended the previous week up 2.2%, but fell in September and the third quarter by 8.8% and 23%, respectively.
The price of futures for WTI oil for November on the electronic trading of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is $81.57 per barrel by this time, which is $2.08 (2.62%) more than the final value of the previous session. By the close of the last session, the cost of these contracts fell by $1.74 (2.1%) to $79.49 per barrel.
Over the week, WTI rose in price by 1%, but also lost 11% and almost 25% in the month and quarter, respectively.
Oil traders’ concerns about a slowdown in global economic growth have recently contributed to the decline in oil prices at the fastest pace since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The Sardinian authorities are offering to pay people 15,000 euros each to move them to the island. The purpose of such “generosity” is to populate the rural areas of the region.
Who would have thought that an island with turquoise seas and white sandy beaches could face the problem of underpopulation? But many local residents leave small settlements due to lack of work.
To combat the outflow of the rural population, the authorities offer foreigners 15 thousand euros for resettlement on the coast of Sardinia. However, there is a prerequisite for participation in the program – this money must be used to repair a house in one of the settlements with a population of less than 3,000 people. Among such settlements are Galtelli and Calasetta.
“We have created conditions for young people to decide to stay and economically develop the most vulnerable territories,” said Cristian Solinas, head of the autonomous region of Sardinia.
Relocation applicants should note that the scheme is for a permanent move, not a vacation home. Moreover, the grant cannot exceed 50% of the purchase and repair cost. In total, 105 million euros were allocated for the project.
To receive a grant, applicants must register their place of residence in Sardinia, and they must do so within 18 months of arrival.
This is not the first time that the Italian government has offered monetary incentives for settling in rural areas. Earlier this year, a number of villages in the southern region of Calabria offered young people up to 28,000 euros.
Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily.
