Bags in deep red
.
The explosive mix of war, inflation and lockdown in China sinks the financial markets from Asia to the United States passing through Europe,
where the lists close at the lows of the last two months thanks to the drop in oil which weighs down energy.
Piazza Affari closed down by 2.74% with the spread rising to 205
basis points while the yield on BTPs jumped to 3.22%,
on the levels of November 2018. The wave of sales that hit the stock markets is linked to the action of the central banks, which are rapidly starting to withdraw the stimulus measures put in place for the pandemic in an attempt to contain inflation, and to the investors who hastily step back in the face of signs of slowing growth.
What is worrying is the news coming from China where the lockdowns for Covid are starting to be felt on the economy, making the rest of the world tremble.
Chinese exports slowed significantly in April, climbing a modest 3.9%, in what is the first single-digit growth in 18 months.
The uncertainties linked to the war in Ukraine and the effects of sanctions add to the slowdown in Beijing.
The invasion accelerated the global price rush, prompting central banks to take decisive action against inflation at its 40-year high.
To restore price stability, the Fed has embarked on the most aggressive interest rate hike since 1980 accompanied by a rapid reduction in the balance sheet, which soared to $ 9 trillion with the pandemic.
The squeeze, is the fear of economists and investors, risks to slide the American economy into recession, not yet fully recovered after the pandemic,
or even worse in stagflation.
A complex picture in which uncertainty, the biggest enemy of the stock exchanges, prevails.
On Wall Street, it is technology that pays the highest price.
After a two-year run with Covid, Big Tech not only brakes but nails.
From Meta to Google, from Apple to Amazon all the big giants suffer heavy losses.
Cupertino and Jeff Bezos' giant lose 2.7%, Facebook 1.68% and Twitter 1.73%.
The drop in the stock exchanges is accompanied by that of oil, with WTI and Brent losing 5%, and the crash of Bitcoin.
The cryptocurrency collapses to July 2021 levels, dropping below $ 32,000 and trailing its sisters.
In fact, Ether loses 7%, Avalanche 9.4% and Solana 7.3%.
"With inflation fears, many investors are taking a risk-limiting approach that includes selling cryptocurrencies and equities," observers point out.
For crypto skeptics, the decline shows that Bitcoin cannot be considered a safe haven asset: the digital currency has lost 29% this year compared to -10% of bonds and shares and above all compared to + 2.5% of the gold, the safe haven asset par excellence.