Europe points to a positive start. Asia closes painted green
To the European stock exchanges point to a positive startin the first session of a week that will be marked by monetary policy decisions in Japan and the United States.
Euro Stoxx 50 futures rise 0.2%, before the release of final inflation data for February in the Euro Zone.
According to Eurostat’s flash estimate, released at the beginning of March, the harmonized consumer price index will have slowed from 2.8% in January to 2.6%. If confirmed, this is the second consecutive month of slowdown.
In Asia, the negotiation ended painted in green, with Japanese and Chinese indices among the best performers.
The mood was supported, in part, by data on industrial production, which registered a year-on-year increase of 7% in January and February – above the 5% expected by analysts -, signaling a recovery in the second largest economy in the world.
In Japan, the Nikkei gained 2.67% and Topix added 1.92%, at a time when expectations are growing that the Bank of Japan will end the cycle of negative interest rates at Tuesday’s meeting. In South Korea, the Kospi advanced 0.71%.
“Japanese stocks are rising, driven by the weakness of the yen and expectations that the currency will not appreciate even if the central bank raises interest rates,” said Charu Chanana, analyst at Saxo Capital Markets, speaking to Bloomberg.
This week will also be marked by the meeting of the North American Federal Reserve (Fed), which will take place between Tuesday and Wednesday. Although the central bank is expected to keep interest rates unchanged in the range between 5.25% and 5.5%, the words of Jerome Powell, president of the Fed, after the conclusion of the meeting will be listened to carefully by investors, who are looking for clues on the course of monetary policy this year.
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