European stock markets were trading positively ahead of the US midterm vote. Madrid posted the strongest gain at 1.1%, followed by Milan at 0.5%, Paris at 0.45%, Frankfurt at 0.4% and London at 0.1%.
US futures were also higher before the release of purchasing managers’ indexes and the ISM data expected in the afternoon. Italy’s manufacturing index fell further below expectations in October to 49.4 points, while France’s rose to 49.5 and the European Union’s reached 52.7. Germany’s index remained unchanged at 54.2.
Commodity prices declined. WTI crude fell 4.2% to $99.76 a barrel, gas dropped 3.5% to €100.31 per megawatt-hour and gold decreased 2.07% to $3,897.07 an ounce.
The spread between Italian 10-year government bonds and German Bunds narrowed to 115.6 points. Italy’s annual yield fell by 4.5 points to 4.46%, while Germany’s declined by 1.1 points to 3.31% and France’s by three points to 4.93%. The dollar weakened to $1.12 against the euro and $1.34 against the pound.
Air France-KLM gained 4% ahead of its results, due on November 5, while Ryanair rose 3.32% after releasing its accounts in the morning and confirming that it could reach 300 million passengers in 2034. IAG, the group comprising British Airways and Iberia, advanced 3% before its results scheduled for November 6. Lufthansa rose 2.59% ahead of its accounts, expected the following day.
Oil companies moved lower, with BP down 1.4%, Shell 1.25%, Eni 0.98%, Repsol 0.8% and TotalEnergies 0.7%. Utilities also declined, led by A2A at 2.54% and RWE at 0.94%, while Enel was down 0.5%.
Automakers were also weaker: Porsche fell 0.88%, Volkswagen 0.7%, Stellantis 0.65% and Renault 0.6%. Banks traded unevenly, with Santander up 1.7%, UniCredit 1.55%, BPER 1.4% and MPS 1.15%, while Banco BPM fell 0.62% and HSBC 0.88%.
Sources: ANSA Economia.