The economic crisis triggered by the Coronavirus has presented a very salty bill to the markets. He certifies it Assosim, the association of financial market intermediaries, in its tractional half-yearly report on the transactions carried out by the associates on the markets managed by Borsa Italiana, EuroTlx, Hi-Mtf, Equiduct and by some intermediaries in the role of Systematic internalisers on shares. Equities, bonds, derivatives, there is no sector that has not suffered serious repercussions, even if the response of the world Authorities, the ECB above all, has contributed to reducing the impact of the emergency, avoiding at least for the moment, the onset of a new financial crisis.
Given the context, Assosim has drawn up its six-monthly rankings based on the volumes traded and the number of transactions carried out by the associated intermediaries. From the analysis of the association, a substantially stable situation emerges compared to 2019, with Finecobank dominating the stock market and Banca Akros to dominate the bond market.
SHARES, BONDS AND DERIVATIVES
In the first half of 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Piazza Affari was hit by a real rain of sales. Just to give a few examples: it is difficult not to mention the -16,92% lost in the session of 12 March (the worst session in history of the Milanese list) or the -11,7% recorded three days earlier, on 9 March.
Since the beginning of May though the shareholder recovered part of the losses suffered, with the Ftse Mib returning above the 20 mark. Despite this, the half-year financial statements remain strongly negative. Since the beginning of the year, the main stock exchange on Piazza Affari has lost 17,6% of its value. The other indices are also bad: the Ftse Italia Star loses 10,2% and the Ftse Italia PIR MidCap 17,2%.
In its report, Assosim also underlines the strong surge in the volatility of the Ftse Mib, which went from an average of 13,23% in the first half of 2019 to 39,77% as an average in the first half of 2020 (with a maximum peak of 90,6% precisely in March).
"This increased volatility of the markets, together with the changed living conditions deriving from the lockdown measures, has also favored the TOL, as is evident from the related growth figures for transactions (+56,79%) and countervalues (+29,63 %) traded on the MTA market”, says Assosim, underlining however that despite the shock, the prompt response of the world Authorities has avoided a financial crisis similar (if not worse) to the one seen since 2008.
Holds better bond market, with fixed-income securities feeling the effects of the crisis, but also benefiting from the extraordinary measures adopted and the reassurances of central banks.
“Noteworthy – reports the association – are operations on the MOT market, with double-digit growth both in countervalues (+38,59%) and in the number of transactions completed (+24,60%)”. A positive performance to which the fourteenth issue of the BTP Italy with its 22 billion equivalent value collected.
Finally, as regards the derivatives, Assosim reports the contrasting trend in volumes seen on the IDEM market: if in fact the number of contracts decreased by 16,17% compared to the first half of 2019, trading in Index Futures and MiniFutures showed significant growth. "The general figure was affected above all by the strong contraction in volumes traded on stock futures and stock options, which were affected - inter alia - by the restrictive measures on net short positions in place from mid-March to mid-May" .
THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE SHARES
In the stock market, the first place in the ranking which takes into account both the volumes traded by Assosim intermediaries and on behalf of third parties and managed systematic internalisers is once again Finecobank, with a market share of 28%. In second place, but at a considerable distance, we find Imi Bank, with a market share of 12,52%. Third IwBank with 8,96%. The first two positions also confirmed in the ranking that takes into account the number of transactions, with Finecobank reaching a market share of 25,18% (from 23,1% in December 2019) and Banca Imi rising from 13,86% to 15,21 ,9,14%. Akros Bank is third, with XNUMX%.
On a general level, Assosim underlines that "the total value of trading on the Borsa Italiana stock market, equal in absolute value to 346 billion euro, grew by 29,63% compared to the first half of 2019, while the number of contracts traded, equal to approximately 49 million, grew by 56,79%”. Conversely, the concentration of trading on the stock market managed by Borsa Italiana on FTSE MIB securities remained stable, with the percentage of trading on the main index fixed at 89,2%.
THE RANKING OF BONDS
Turning instead to the ranking of bonds on the volumes traded in the various markets, it is placed in first place Banca Akros, with a market share of 20,61%. Second place for Imi Bank, with a market share of 16,96%. Invest Bank third, with a share of 13,31%. Instead, the first two positions in the ranking by number of transactions are reversed: first Banca Imi with 22,19% market share, second Banca Akros with 19,73%, bronze medal for Finecobank with 10,28%.
