MILAN ALWAYS BELOW.
BANKS STILL SUFFER
After the initial sharp fall, Milan continues weak under the weight of bank stocks which yesterday had sketched a timid rebound. The Ftse Mib index falls by 2,09%, Madrid also slips -1,48%. The reductions for London -0,38%, Paris -0,81% and Frankfurt -0,44% were more contained. While waiting for indications on the duel in the USA on the federal budget, the real unknown factor on the Old Continent's price lists remains the debt of the peripheral countries of the Eurozone, also because the German position, perhaps for internal political reasons, is once again stiffening: in exchange for aid, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaueble told Stern, Greece or other countries should cede part of their sovereignty to the EU. Schaueble himself, in a letter, expressed the opposition of the German executive to the hypothesis of giving carte blanche to the European rescue fund EFSF with regard to the purchase of government bonds in the secondary sector, a key point of the Greek rescue plan . In this context, the strong volatility of the bond market is not surprising.
One week after the go-ahead for Greece's bailout, tensions are returning to Italy and Spain: BTP yields rise by 10 basis points to 5,70%, the spread with the German Bund has widened again to 303 from 288 of closing last night. It had jumped to 315 basis points in the morning. Yields on ten-year Spanish government bonds rise to 6% (+14 bps) and the spread with Germany rises to 341 from 322. The euro remains supported against the dollar at 1,45, the highest since the beginning of the month. The improvement on Greece, combined with the American problems, has allowed the euro to rebound by almost 5% in the space of two weeks. Bank sales continue in Piazza Affari. The war bulletin reports in mid-morning: Unicredit -3%, Intesa -4%, Banca Monte Paschi -0,5%, Banco Popolare -2,6%, Pop. Milan -1,5%.
STORM IN PARIS ON PEUGEOT STOCKS (-8%)
FIAT REDUCES THE LOSS (-0,7%). RISALE INDUSTRIAL
Parisian storm on car stocks: after the results PSA loses 8%. Europe's second-largest automaker said its auto division could post a net loss in the second half of 2011 due to the effects of Japan's earthquake in March and rising raw material costs. Peugeot has therefore abandoned the prospect of increasing operating profits of the car division in the second half of the year, but not that of increasing group profits in 2011. In the first half of the year, Peugeot's operating profit, net of one-off items, grew by 1,8% to 1,16 billion euros, with the margin on sales decreasing to 3,7% from 4%. Net income rose to 806 million euros from 680 million. The news doesn't do Fiat any good. But the house of Lingotto, after a heavy start (after the -4,5% following the announcement of the results) still reduces the losses to 0,7%. Prompt recovery of Industrial (+2,5%).
Among the oil companies, Eni -0,5% and Saipem -0,3%. Brent is flat at $118,3. Ansaldo Sts (-0,2%) has almost completely eliminated the initial losses due to the profit warning announced yesterday with the quarterly results. Following the data, these were the interventions of the brokers: Jp Morgan brought the target price to 6,5 euros from 9 euros, Barclays lowered it to 7 from 8,7 euros, Natixis to 9,5 from 10,3 euros . B. Leonardo confirmed the Buy with a target price of 10,1 euros from 11,3 euros. The best blue chip remains Impregilo +3,9%. The Gavio group would be willing to speed things up and go ahead alone in the negotiations to acquire 33% of Igli, the holding company that holds 29% of Impregilo, from Fonsai. Mf writes it adding that the idea would be to transfer a part of the share to the Benettons. Italcementi +2,4%, Geox +2,2%, Recordati +1,3% is up. And Luxottica +1,3% in the wake of the good quarterly performance.
