The blackout that hit the Iberian Peninsula has not dampened the appetite for risk on most markets today. European lists, which opened the week with a cautiously positive session – which closed below the day's highs – after the gains of the previous week. Wall Street appears uncertain in the American morning. The numerous quarterly reports are holding the stage on both sides of the Atlantic, while discussions continue on tariffs and a truce in Ukraine, after the Trump-Zelenski face-to-face in St. Peter's on Saturday, on the sidelines of Pope Francis' funeral.
Business Square gains 0,31% and reaches 37.465 basis points, attentive to global issues, but above all shaken by the fever of the bank risk which today hit a new peak with the surprise move of Mediobanca (-0,8%) on General Bank (+5,17%). This is apublic exchange offer worth 6,3 billion launched by Piazzetta Cuccia on all the shares of the savings management company, to be paid entirely – and here's the beauty – with Mediobanca's share in Generali (-1,13%). An “offensive” move according to CEO Alberto Nagel, but which many observers see as a clever defensive move with respect to the appetites of Ps (+2,08%) on Mediobanca itself, because steals the most delicious morsel from the predator. There will still be many bets on this match, meanwhile, looking at the other European lists, it should be emphasized that the progress of the day is fractional Frankfurt + 0,18% Paris +0,5% and Madrid + 0,65% Amsterdam e London they are flat, while it loses altitude Lisbon -1,01%.
Wall Street down
Overseas Wall Street moves weakly after the first hours of trading, at the start of an important week for the magnificent seven, four of which – Microsoft, Apple, Meta and Amazon – will present their accounts between Wednesday and Thursday. In particular, the focus will be on Apple (-0,65%) to see how the tariff policy pursued by the White House is impacting iPhone sales prospects and supply chains. Meanwhile Nvidia it dropped 3,45%.
La trade war declared by President Donald Trump, especially to China, continues to be a thorn in the side of the financial markets, which after almost 100 days of the new US administration are making a decidedly negative assessment. In particular in New York, S & P 500 has lost about 8% since Trump took office, the worst decline in the first 100 days of a U.S. president since Gerald Ford in 1974, after Richard Nixon resigned.
Confusion has been a hallmark of this tariff policy. Even today, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the relationship with China “is complicated” and that “it is up to them to defuse the conflict,” while China reiterated that there are no ongoing talks with the United States and there have been no telephone contacts in recent days, contrary to what Trump claimed.
While the 90-day truce with most states is underway, talks are continuing to find various agreements. One of the first, according to Bessent, will be with India.
Dollar down slightly
The lack of clarity on tariffs continues to weigh on the dollar which, despite the recent recovery, is now moving slightly lower against the major currencies.euro is making a timid progress at 1,138, while the greenback is losing more decisively against the yen (-0,5%) for a cross at 142,81.
Among the raw materials , after a dull morning, regains its shine and trades above $3300. In particular, spot gold rises by 0,19% to $3324.58, while the June 2025 future is at $3335 (+1,11%).
Instead, move back Petroleum, due to uncertainty over trade relations between the United States and China that cast a shadow over global growth prospects and fuel demand, while in the background remains the prospect of an increase in supply by OPEC +. Thus Brent and WTI, June delivery, are down about 1,5% and are trading at 64,81 dollars and 62,12 dollars respectively.
Piazza Affari: Interpump and Saipem do well, Pirelli loses control of Sinochem
On the main Milanese stock exchange today stand out Interpump +2,85% and Saipem +1,74%. In particular, the oil service celebrates the award from Eni (-0,31%) of a contract in the United Kingdom for the Liverpool Bay CCS project and for an estimated value of approximately 520 million euros over three years.
Financial stocks, however, are the lion's share of the top ten of the day. Mps leads the increases, despite the countermove by Mediobanca and they are also lively Bper +1,68% and Banca Popolare di Sondrio +1,42%, in a merger perspective that would be well received by the shareholder of both, Unipol + 1,08%.
I'm in the light Unicredit, +1,71% and Bpm bank +1,46%, remembering that today the public exchange offer has started launched by the bank led by Andrea Orcel on Piazza Meda.
Outside this perimeter, ideas have been seen on Campari +1,29% and Azimuth + 1,38%.
On the opposite side of the basket there are instead Leonardo -1,73% stm -1,37% nexi -0,96%.
Pirelli is slightly down (-0,48%), while at the end of the session news arrives that The Chinese partner Sinochem loses control over the group. In fact, the Bicocca board of directors met today to approve the financial statements, but the board also approved the proposal of CEO Andrea Casaluci, according to which, following the issuance of the Golden Power decree, “MPI Italy (and, as a result, Sinochem) no longer has control over Pirelli pursuant to IFRS 10”. At the same time, a note states, “Pirelli is not, pursuant to the aforementioned accounting principle, subject to the control of any entity”. The verification of the existence of control by the Sinochem group through Marco Polo Italy (MPI Italy) had been raised by the board of statutory auditors and management following the issuance of the Golden Power decree of June 2023. Management highlights that the decision regarding the absence of control by the shareholder Sinochem "represents a first step, but not a definitive one, in the process of necessary adaptation of corporate governance to regulatory constraints in the USA, a key market in the High Value tyre segment and in the development and diffusion of Cyber Tyre technology". Therefore, management reiterated that "it will continue the dialogue with the main shareholders to align Pirelli's governance with American regulations, in particular those related to connected vehicles, in the interest of the company and all its stakeholders".
Spreads down
The Italian paper closes positively, with the spread between 10-year BTPs and Bunds of equal duration stopping at 109 basis points. The yields of the two securities are little changed: the BTP is indicated at 3,61% and the Bund at 2,51%. Meanwhile, news is arriving from the ECB world, recording a very accommodating position from the hawk Olli Rehn, governor of the Finnish central bank, according to whom
The European Central Bank could cut interest rates below the neutral threshold and maintain maximum flexibility.
The reason for this possible choice is that underlying price pressures are easing and that US trade tariffs are mostly increasing the downside risks to inflation.
