European bourses traded unevenly with losses predominating on Thursday, as corporate earnings reports influenced indices and inflation showed signs of resurgence across major European economies and the US. The core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, rose 2.8% year-on-year in June, exceeding economist forecasts of 2.7%.
Milan’s FTSE MIB was the worst performer (-0.7%), followed by Paris’ CAC 40 (-0.4%) and Frankfurt’s DAX (-0.1%). Conversely, London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.4% and Madrid’s IBEX 35 rose 0.5%. Wall Street futures surged, fueled by better-than-expected results from Microsoft and Meta, reigniting optimism about artificial intelligence and propelling the Nasdaq up 1.3% in pre-market trading. US weekly jobless claims came in slightly better than expected at 218,000.
Government bond yields edged lower after the Fed held rates steady without committing to a September move. The yield on Italy’s 10-year BTP fell one basis point to 3.5%, while the spread with the German Bund remained stable at 81 basis points.
On the Milan exchange, Ferrari (-5.8%), Tenaris (-4.8%), and Nexi (-2.7%) declined post-earnings. Iveco also fell sharply (-4.6%) following its agreement to sell its defence vehicle unit to Leonardo (+1%) and Tata Motors. Quarterly results lifted Prysmian (+2.6%), Banco Bpm (+2.2%), which is again central to sector consolidation talks, and Mediolanum (+1.3%).
In currency markets, the euro strengthened against the dollar (+0.2% to $1.1426), halting a five-session losing streak.