European stock markets also closed the last session of the week with a drop, after the rate hikes decided in recent days by many central banks starting yesterday with the Bank of England and with the Fed (stopped in June) potentially ready to implement other two squeezes between now and the end of the year. Aggressive monetary policies bring fears of recession to the fore, which are now reflected in the disappointing manufacturing and services PMIs in the Eurozone, particularly in Germany and France, while negative indications in this sense also come from the USA. Risk aversion favors government bonds, which see yields shrinking on both sides of the Atlantic. Weak Wall Street at the start.
Milan it aligns with the general trend and loses 0,73%, falling to 27.209 basis points. The picture is not much different a Frankfurt -0,98% Madrid -1,03%, Paris -0,55% London -0,52%.
Purchases instead reward the dollar, which appears to be a safe haven together with gold (+0,5% to 1922,9 dollars an ounce). The US currency also strengthens following the considerations of Jerome Powell in his recent testimony to the US Congress.
THEeuro it loses about 0,65% against the greenback, with the exchange rate around 1,088.
Il Petroleum remains crushed by fears about demand in a context of possible economic slowdown and continues to decline today. Brent loses 0,8% and trades at 73,55 dollars a barrel; the WTI falls by 0,9%% to 68,9 dollars a barrel.
Economic activity in the euro area disappoints
The economic activity of the euro area it appears stagnant in June and manufacturing suffers above all. They reveal it PMI indices of the block, which use the 50 line as the boundary between expansion and contraction.
The Hcob Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), edited by S&P Global, considered a good indicator of general economic health, fell this month to a low of five at 50,3 from May's reading of 52,8 and against much higher expectations. THEl PMI services it fell to 52,4 from 55,1 and the manufacturing one did much worse with a drop to 43,6 from 44,8 in May. This is the lowest figure since most of 2020, in the midst of the Covid era.
Among the countries that suffer the most are Germany and France. The first sees a slowdown in activity in the service sector and an intensification of the decline in manufacturing production. The services PMI fell to 54,1 from 57,2 the previous month; manufacturing PMI contracted to 41 to a 37-month low, versus 43,2 in May
French economic activity on the other hand contracted in June for the first time in five months, due to an unexpected drop in the services sector to 48, from 52,5 last month. The manufacturing PMI rose to 45,5 from 45,7.
Negative indications also arrived in the afternoon from the USA.
Piazza Affari, utilities on the rise and banks on the decline
The main list of Piazza Affari sees utilities, on the rise, and banks, on the decline, lined up on opposite sides.
They actually go up Italgas + 0,47 %, Hera + 0,66 %%, Enel +0,22%, while they retreat Bpm bank -2,04% Bper -2,19% Ps -2,5% Understanding -1,85%.
Outside of these sectors, they stand out on the price list Ferrari +0,89% and Recordati +0,82%. Among the biggest discounts Saipem -4,44% Prysmian -2,53% stm -2,44%.
Telecom, -0,54%, closed a very volatile session after yesterday's decision to deal exclusively with the Kkr fund for the sale of the network.
It's in red too Pirelli -1,08%. In recent days the hypothesis of a possible merger of Bicocca with Brembo (-0,15%), after the latter had announced the transfer of the registered office to the Netherlands, with the aim of also facilitating potential acquisition transactions with the exchange of securities.
Today Mediobanca Securities, in a simulation on this hypothesis, calculates that the group born from such a marriage would have a market capitalization of 8,6 billion and an enterprise value of 11,6 billion, transforming itself into one of the main suppliers of automotive components with an EBITDA of €2,1 billion in 2023 and an adjusted net profit of approximately €850 million. Bombassei would be the first partner.
Among oil stocks, in addition to Saipem, it is negative Eni -0,7%, which this morning announced a mega acquisition with Var Energi of Neptune Energy, for an enterprise value of $4,9 billion.
Stable spread and falling rates
The session was instead in favor of government bonds. In fact, the yields of BTPs and Bunds are down, the Italian 3,91-year bond falls to +2,36% and the German one to +XNUMX%, for one spread stable at 155 basis points (-0,46%).
