Stock exchanges still uncertain due to the pandemic and oil sales. The European stock markets close compactly in negative territory, while Wall Street is currently walking on the edge of parity, clinging to the positive quarterly results of companies such as Snapchat, Facebook, Google and the hope that an agreement will finally arrive between Democrats and Republicans on the aid plan . Piazza Affari is the worst, -2,03%, 19.089 points, even if Ferragamo flies out of the main basket +8,73% with rumors of the sale of a minority stake.
Red is deep in Frankfurt -1,43%; Paris -1,53%; Madrid -1,65%; London -1,9%. The latter also suffers from the leap of the pound against the euro and the dollar, due to progress in the Brexit negotiations. On the other hand, the trade agreement between the EU and the UK could remove one of the uncertainties weighing on the continent's economic future. As the International Monetary Fund notes: "The impact of the pandemic has been enormous" in Europe and the recovery from "this crisis will be uneven and partial". The outlook is very uncertain: “The re-emergence of infections probably represents the biggest downside risk at the moment. A no-deal Brexit would be a further potential shock to assets."
On the currency market, the euro-dollar moves favorably to the single currency in the 1,187 area. Gold recovering to 1922,9 dollars an ounce (+0,85%). Oil in a nosedive, with disappointing data on US inventories. Texan crude loses almost 3,7% and trades at 40,16 dollars a barrel; while Brent drops more than 3%, below 42 dollars.
The effects of these collapses can be seen in Piazza Affari where Saipem leaves 5,26% in the field. bad Eni -3,38%. The worst title, however, is Bper, -6,38%, after yesterday's surge. The change of mood also affects the other banks, in particular Unicredit -3,77%. Sales also sink Leonardo -4,77% (who confirmed his confidence in the CEO, Alessandro Profumo, despite the ruling on MPS in recent days) and Pirelli -4,06%. Atlantia dropped 3,24%, after the losses on the eve and following the stalemate, for now, with the CDP. The Benetton holding judged the offer from the Cassa and the funds for 88% of Aspi inadequate, as it was not binding and unsatisfactory in terms of price. For the consortium led by CDP, 100% of Aspi is worth between 8,5 and 9,5 billion, a range still far from that expected by Atlantia. There are only 3 blue chips in positive territory: Diasorin +1,99%; Unipol +1,2%; Buzz +0,92%.
As regards the Bologna-based insurance group, it should be noted that Unipolsai also closed on the rise (+0,88%) which yesterday placed, with Italian and foreign institutional investors, a "Restricted Tier 1" regulatory capital instrument, non-convertible and legally Italian, for a nominal amount of 500 million euros. "An issue that has sparked strong interest, helping to improve the company's financial and capital profile and the cost of debt", underlines Akros who reiterates the "accumulate" judgment with a target price of 2,5 euros. According to some operators, today's performances of Unipol and UnipolSai (the leading Italian company in the non-life sector) could also have been favored by the hypotheses of further restrictions on mobility (or, as a last resort, a new lockdown) in the light of the sharp increase in Covid infections in the last days. In fact, today the new positives in Italy have set yet another record, reaching 15.199 and Lombardy, the beating heart of the national economy, has confirmed itself as the most affected region (+4125 positives).
The situation does not favor bonds: the spread between Italian and German ten-year bonds rises to 136 basis points (+3,51%) and the BTP rate rises to 0,77%. Meanwhile, the Treasury has decided to issue a new 30-year benchmark. The Ministry of the Economy – reads a note – has entrusted a group of banks made up of Bnp Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Monte dei Paschi di Siena Capital Services Banca per le Imprese, Jp Morgan and Nomura with the mandate for a syndicate swap that provides for the issue of a new 30-year BTP benchmark expiring on 01/09/2051 and the repurchase of four outstanding BTPs and one CcTeu. The BTPs subject to the repurchase are the BTP expiring 01/08/2021, the BTP expiring 01/05/2023, the BTP expiring 01/08/2023, the BTP expiring 01/10/2023 and the CcTeu expiring 15/01/2025 . The operation will be completed in the next market days.
Returning to stocks, the best stock on Borsa Italiana today is Salvatore Ferragamo, which began to rise after Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter, wrote that the family, which controls the luxury brand, "had informal contacts with investors financial to sell a minority stake in the company in an attempt to support the group's recovery plans, hampered by the dramatic crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic".
