Exchanges slow down in view of the halfway point at the end of the year. In the middle of the day Business Square, bringing up the rear in Europe, lost 0,40% around 19.200 points together with Madrid -0,3%. Little moved price lists of Paris e Frankfurt. Bucking London (+0,2%), which reopened its doors this morning after the holidays.
Better in Italy consumer confidence climate, while that of companies worsens. The consumer index, according to Istat, rises from 108,1 to 111,1, with progress spread across all components. The business index falls from 101,4 to 100,3. In fact, confidence in services and construction worsens, while manufacturing and retail trade grow.
The Treasury has placed all 6,5 billion euros of Bot at six months offered at auction today, with rates falling to new all-time low. The average yield dropped to -0,317% from -0,199% in November's placement. The previous all-time low was reached in October at -0,295%.
Lo spread between XNUMX-year BTPs and German Bunds opens above yesterday's closing levels at 165,9 points. The yield on the Italian 1,85-year bond rises to 121%. The spread between Spanish bonos and the Bund stands at 1,40 with a yield of XNUMX%.
Italy's sovereign rating will not suffer immediate consequences following the 20 billion euro support plan for the banking sector. He writes it Standard and Poor's: according to the rating agency's calculations, if the 20 billion in the plan were used in full, the impact on the country's debt/GDP ratio would be 1,2 percentage points, to 131,6% at the end of 2017, against the current estimate of 130,4%. S&P currently has a BBB- rating on Italy, the lowest in the investment grade category. The outlook is stable.
While trading is still suspended on Ps waiting for precautionary recapitalization of the government, Italian banks are weak: Understanding drops by 0,65%, Bper of 0,39% Unicredit by 0,57%. The Populars are under fire: Ubi -2,31% bpm drops by 3,44% and the Banco Popolare of 3,19%.
In Piazza Affari the rush of Mediaset, +1,40% after the highs at the beginning of the session (+2,2%). The maneuvers of speculation that try to guess the next moves in the tug-of-war between Fininvest and Vivendi are supporting prices: today the most accredited rumor speaks of a possible sale of Mediaset to the Bolloré group against a simultaneous payment in shares of Vivendi itself, of which the Berlusconi family could become the second shareholder.
In this case, Bollorè's share would drop to 18% while the Fininvest group would become the second largest shareholder of the French communications giant with around 10% of the capital: it seems more like an investment bank project than a concrete deal. The offer would also concern Mediaset Spain and probably Ei Towers, up by 0,9%.
Backtrack, meanwhile, by Telecom Italy, which lost 2,1% after the recent increases. It remains above the bid price (2,8 euros) launched by the French of Lactalis the title Parmalat (+0,21% to 2,84 euros). The price of the takeover bid, Banca Imi hypothesizes, "may suggest that a battle could emerge further on between the historical activist shareholders and the newcomers led by the funds against the controlling shareholder".
Il Petroleum Brent consolidates yesterday's rise to 56,1 dollars a barrel with operators waiting to see if and how the agreement between the OPEC countries and Russia for a cut in production will be implemented, which should come into force in January. The Egyptian oil minister, Tarek El Molla, has signed three oil and gas exploration and production agreements worth at least 220 million dollars with the French Total, the British BP and with ENI (+0,5%) . Saipem +1,2%.
Among industrial stocks, StM 0,4% salt, Fiat Chrysler -0,1%. Ima, unchanged at 58,1 euros, signed an agreement to acquire 70% of Mai Sa, an Argentinian company active in the production and marketing of machines for packaging tea and herbal teas in filter bags. The outlay for the company led by Alberto will be around 7,7 million dollars.
