Fireworks today on the world stock exchanges. Piazza Affari closes at the top in Europe, +2,77%, 22.512 points, with Fiat at an all-time high. Rain of purchases also in Madrid +1,93%; Paris +1,55%; Frankfurt +1,46%. Cautious London, +0,32%, while Wall Street is still traveling at record levels, with the Dow Jones beyond the threshold of 25.000 points.
Positive economic data drags the price lists, from east to west. Things got off to a good start in the morning, with Tokyo at a 26-year high, driven by solid data on manufacturing from the US and China which reinforce optimism on the evolution of the world economy. They continued positively in the euro area with the growth of the composite PMI index, December over November, (in Italy the index closed the nineteenth month in a row above the threshold of 50 which separates contraction from expansion). This is the strongest growth in nearly seven years. Finally, they consolidated with the leap beyond the expectations of employees in the private sector in the US.
In this climate, the euro remains tonic against the dollar, with the cross over 1,2. Among cryptocurrencies it is the day of Ethereum, an alternative to Bitcoin and the third most important by market capitalization which, after being overtaken last week by Ripple, exceeded the $1.000 threshold for the first time, only to then slow down.
Oil was stable, still rounding off gains, Brent at 67,99 dollars a barrel. The weekly data on US inventories does not shake the market much. According to the EIA, those of crude oil decreased more than expected, while gasoline and distillates increased.
Gold travels well in tune, 1318,9 dollars an ounce (+0,44%). The secondary tricolor catches its breath. The spread between the ten-year Italian (2,01% yield) and German falls by 2,83% to 157.70 basis points.
In Piazza Affari the Agnelli galaxy dominates the scene. FCA reaches a new high, 16,85 euros per share, +8,36%, after having also reached 17 euros and drags along Exor, +6,86% and Ferrari +4,17%. Apparently yesterday's data on US registrations weren't all that disappointing. As Mediobanca Securities explains, FCA actually did worse than the US market and posted a double-digit decline with all the major brands negative, but the American auto market as a whole performed better than expected and is close to record levels supported by an expanding economy and, looking ahead, by the effects of the tax reform. “Fca – concludes Mediobanca – is the major beneficiary of a solid US market. For 2018 we expect a 'low-single-digit' year-on-year decline”. The title is "outperform", target at 20 euros.
Session dedicated to purchases for the banks. Ubi is the best, +4,97%. Well Finecobank, +4,02%. Utilities to the rescue, starting from A2a +3,56%. Oil tonic: Eni +2,37%. The downside of the Ftse Mib hosts only Campari, -0,63%.
