European stock markets open with falls in the scenario of delayed rate cuts

The European stock markets have opened with falls given the scenario that the disinflationary process will not be as the markets expected, which will delay the start of rate cuts and limit their amount, after knowing the US inflation data, to that those from the United Kingdom are added today.

At the opening, the stock market that fell the most was Milan, with 1.04%, followed by Frankfurt, with 1.02%; London, with 0.28%; Madrid, with 0.18%, and Paris, with 0.10%.

The Euro Stoxx50, an index that includes the largest capitalization European companies, also lost 0.11%.

In Asia, the main indicator of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei, closed today with a drop of 0.69%, with Japanese investors taking profits after the index recorded a renewed record in 34 years the day before, as well as than the Seoul Stock Exchange, which fell 1.1%, thus breaking a three-day positive streak for its main index, the Kospi.

For their part, the markets in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong did not operate this Wednesday due to the holiday for the Lunar New Year holiday period.

Wall Street closed yesterday in red and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, its main indicator, fell 1.35%, just over 500 points, after the inflation data was released and the Nasdaq index, where the big technology companies are listed, gave up a 1.8%,

The stock markets have thus reacted to the inflation rate in the US, which fell three tenths in January, to 3.1%, which is in line with the objectives of the Federal Reserve (Fed) and its plans to begin reducing rates at some point this year, if prices continue to fall, however the figure was higher than investors’ expectations, which placed the rate at 2.9% year-on-year,

After the US CPI, this Wednesday the UK inflation data was already known, which remained at 4% in the twelve months until last January, the same rate as in December 2023, reported this Wednesday the Office for National Statistics (ONS, in English).

In the eurozone, investors will be awaiting the publication of the first revision of the GDP data for the fourth quarter of 2023, both year-on-year and quarterly, as well as the monthly industrial production data for December.

Meanwhile, the publication of business results continues; In Spain, Mapfre’s figures were announced this Wednesday, which obtained a net profit of 692 million euros in 2023, 7.7% more than the previous year, thanks to the boost in premium income, which grew by 9.7 % and reached 26,917 million, their historical record.

In the debt market, the interest on the ten-year German bond, considered the safest, falls to 2.364%, and the Spanish bond also drops to 3.306%.

Regarding raw materials, gold depreciated 0.32% and the price per ounce stood at $2,000.

Oil rises slightly, in the case of Brent, the reference in Europe, by 0.21%, to $82.96 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the reference in the US, It advances 0.14% to $77.97.

The euro remains practically stable, with a fall of 0.04% and is exchanged at 1,070 dollars.