Gains in European markets despite fears of growth and energy supply

Today’s attempt by European markets to “break” the declining streak of the previous three meetings was crowned with success, despite fears about the continent’s energy supply and concerns about a slowdown in economic growth.

Investors today continued to closely monitor developments on the energy front, evaluating the decision of the Russian energy giant Gazprom to stop the supply of natural gas to Poland and Bulgaria, which refused to pay in rubles, as he had asked a few days ago. Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A move that caused a new rise in gas prices in Europe, with the Dutch delivery contract in May reaching 107 euros per megawatt hour, marking an increase of 3.67%.

Gazprom’s decision, however, coincides with a sharp escalation of tensions between the West and Russia, as Western nations continue to supply military aid to Kyiv in the face of Russian aggression, with the Kremlin warning that it will not hesitate to hit countries that attempt to intervene in Ukraine or that supply arms to the Ukrainian army.

A development that intensifies fears of war escalation but mainly of further escalation of geopolitical tensions that could further undermine supply chains and global economic growth prospects.

At the same time, investors continued to follow the announcements of corporate results, as today several banks published quarterly figures.

On the board, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index completed the trades with gains of 0.73% and closed at 444.30 points, with almost all sub-sectors closing in positive territory, while the Euro Stoxx 50 blue chips index strengthened by 0, 36% at 3,734.64 points.

In Frankfurt, the DAX index closed the session with gains of 0.27% at 13,793.94 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 closed at 6,445.26 points, with an increase of 0.48%. In London, the FTSE 100 ended the session at 7,425.61 points, up 0.53%.

Markets in the European region also closed with gains, with the FTSE MIB index in Milan completing the trades with gains of 0.63% at 23,830.11 points and the IBEX 35 in Madrid closing at 8,477.70 points, with an increase of 0, 46%.

On the business board, Credit Suisse’s share fell 2.6%, following the announcement for the first quarter of 2022 as well as the reorganization of its management team.

Deutsche Bank’s title also plunged almost 6%, as the bank reported a net profit of 1.06 billion euros ($ 1.13 billion) for the first quarter of the year, but warned of rising costs.