ROUNDUP/Equities Europe Conclusion: Gains in Milan after Melonis election victory

PARIS / LONDON (dpa-AFX) – Europe’s stock markets have stabilized after the price slide at the end of the week. The most important indices hardly moved on Monday after a mixed course of trading. In particular, stocks from the travel and hospitality, technology and automotive sectors took a breather.

The Eurozone leading index EuroStoxx 50 (EURO STOXX 50) had meanwhile dropped to its lowest level since November 2020 and ended up losing 0.18 percent to 3342.56 points. The CAC 40 in Paris went down 0.24 percent to 5769.39 points.

The British FTSE 100 closed 0.03 percent up at 7020.95 points. In Milan, the leading Italian index FTSE Mib (FTSE MIB Italy) gained 0.7 percent after the expected victory of the far-right Fratelli d’Italia in the early parliamentary elections.

Meanwhile, skepticism in Europe is high, especially because the “post-fascist” party “Brothers of Italy” led by the victorious Georgia Meloni is considered very conservative and Eurosceptic, among other things. Along with the Lega of Matteo Salvini and Forza Italia Silvio Berlusconi could Fratelli d’Italia form a government.

Market observer Thomas Altmann remains cautious: “For the European stock markets, the liberation will be even more difficult with the election result from Italy,” wrote the expert from QC Partners. Concerns about a drastic economic slump continued to grow. More and more investors feared that the combination of the energy crisis and rising interest rates could lead to a severe recession.

Among the sectors, tech stocks made up some ground after the recent severe losses. There was tailwind from the experts at the US bank JPMorgan, who pointed out a favorable moment for entry in a study. Investors recently sold off growth stocks, wrote analyst Mislav Matejka. Now, however, he senses the chance of a counter-movement for investors, similar to what happened in the summer.

Shares in the chip industry equipment supplier ASML (ASML NV), which rose by 1.1 percent, were among the beneficiaries. The share certificates of the internet holding Prosus rose by 3.8 percent at the top of the EuroStoxx.

Unilever shares are up 1.8 percent on the London Stock Exchange. The consumer goods group had announced that the previous company boss Alan Jope would vacate his post at the end of next year and leave the company. According to Bernstein expert Bruno Monteyne, this should be well received by investors hoping for new impetus.

A recommendation from the Berenberg Bank came as support for Unilever. The company has repositioned itself for faster growth, praised analyst James Targett./la/he

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