European stock markets open slightly higher after ECB rate hike

The European stock markets have opened slightly upwards, with rises of around 0.15%, following the trail left yesterday by the positive closing of Wall Street and today by the main Asian stock markets, and on the day of the quadruple witch hour, with the expiration of the options and futures contracts on indices and shares.

At the opening, the stock market that rose the most was that of Madrid, with 0.20%, followed by Frankfurt, with 0.14%; Paris, with 0.12%; London, with 0.11%, and Milan, with 0.01%.

The Euro Stoxx50, an index that includes the European companies with the largest capitalization, also rose 0.22%.

The tokyo stock exchange closed today with a 0.66% advance of its main indicator, the Nikkei, after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) decided to keep its stimulus strategy unchanged, which includes ultra-low rates.

Wall Street closed this Thursday with gains and the Dow Jones Industrials rose 1.26% due to expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed) close the cycle of interest rate hikes soon.

The market is still digesting the new rise in interest rates by 0.25% by the European Central Bank, and the pause by the Federal Reserve (Fed) but with the warning that they will occur before the end of year another two new hikes.

On the macroeconomic agenda for the day, the publication this morning in the Eurozone of the final reading of the CPI for May stands out, which should not have any impact on the performance of the markets and, in the afternoon and in the US, of the preliminary reading for June of the consumer sentiment index, which is produced monthly by the University of Michigan.

In the debt market, the interest on the German ten-year bond rises and stands at 2.542%, and the Spanish one also rises to 3.480%.

Regarding oil, Brent, a benchmark in Europe, advances 0.25% and the price of a barrel stands at $75.86, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI), a benchmark in the US, also it advances 0.20%, to $70.76 a barrel, before the official opening of the market.

The euro remains stable and is changing to 1,094 dollars, a change it reached yesterday hours after the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) announced a new rise in interest rates by a quarter of a point and anticipated the possibility of more adjustments in July.