The European markets are recovering despite the energy crunch

LAST UPDATE 13:35

The European markets are trying to break the downward trend after three consecutive negative sessions, with the indices returning to upward territory, drawing impetus from the weakening of the euroas investors assess the impact of Moscow ‘s decision to shut off gas taps to Poland and Bulgaria, as well as the latest corporate earnings announcements.

Pressure has intensified in recent days on international stock markets amid concerns about the risk of slowing growth in Europe and the US as central banks on both sides of the Atlantic abandon zero-interest policies to tackle the jump in inflation.

At the same time, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has led to a spike in energy prices, continues unabated, with little indication that the two sides are making progress in talks on a ceasefire agreement.

At the same time, Russia has decided to cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria, further escalating the dispute with the EU. Russia’s Gazprom has said it will cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria and will keep the taps closed until the two countries comply with Moscow’s request for ruble payments. Gas prices in Europe jumped more than 20% after this development.

On the board, the pan-European STOXX 600 index now rises 0.8% to 444.6 points having recovered from a drop of up to 1% to the day low.

The German DAX gained 0.5% to 13,825 points, the French CAC 40 strengthened by 0.88% to 6,470 points, as well as the British FTSE 100 which rose 0.8% to 7,445 points.

In the region, the Italian FTSE MIB strengthened by 0.6% to 23,818 units, as well as the Spanish IBEX 35 which increased by 0.45% to 8,476 units.

Meanwhile, investment attention remains focused on the announcements of quarterly results that continue on both sides of the Atlantic.

In Europe, Credit Suisse today announced losses for the first quarter of 2022 as well as the reorganization of its management team, with its title falling slightly by 0.7%.

For its part, Deutsche Bank announced profits of 1.06 billion euros for the first quarter of the year, but warned of rising costs and sees its share plunge 4.7%.

Lloyds Banking Group announced a drop in profits for the last quarter, with the British bank, however, revising its estimates for the year, which pushes its securities to move higher by + 1.7%.