European markets edged slightly higher at the beginning of the last trading session of the week, extending the trend set overnight in Tokyo, Beijing, and Hong Kong. While the recent gains on global stocks allowed benchmarks to recoup some of the losses registered last week, it did not completely offset them. The trading enthusiasm which brought strong support to markets recently has not been totally lost but was significantly tempered this week with the resurgence of old bearish drivers such as fears of a second wave of coronavirus and the simmering Sino-American tensions. In addition, transaction volumes are now decreasing substantially as we enter the summer season, which will make markets even harder to trade and predict on the short to mid-term view. Rising stocks volatility is expected today as traders brace for a quadruple witching session on the expiration of stock futures and options, which usually triggers sharp price action intraday.
The FTSE-MIB from Milan is performing strongly today with the market currently trading towards 19,500pts, slightly below the upper band of its short-term flag pattern. Prices remain, however, far from their major support and resistance respectively located towards 19,160pts and 19,725pts
