The ECB, meeting in highly armored Barcelona, confirmed the expectations of unchanged rates and kept the cost of money at an all-time low of 1%, reached last December. The marginal rate was also unchanged at 1,75% and that on deposits at 0,25%. The Stock Exchanges which were already discounting the Eurotower's decision, confirmed the substantial increases already consolidated in the morning with the good outcome of the Spanish and French auctions. Paris rose by 1,43%, Frankfurt by 0,99%, and London by 0,57%. Milan slows down slightly from 1,5% but still maintains the increase around 1%, also in the wake of the slight cooling of the spread between Btp-bund which fell below 390 after the auctions.
A few days before the decisive ballot of the French presidential elections, France manages to successfully place government bonds maturing in 2017, 2021, 2022 and 2025 for a total of 7,43 billion, just under the maximum amount of 7,5 billion but recording declining rates. In particular, the 2,96-year bond fell to 2,98% from XNUMX%. Shortly before Spain managed to fill up the auction of 3- and 5-year government bonds, albeit with higher rates of over 4% for both maturities. The spread between Spanish and German ten-year bonds is 418 basis points, with yields Bonos at 5,80%, while the France-Germany spread is around 130 points
The Stock Exchanges reacted positively to the auctions after an uncertain start in the aftermath of disappointing macro data and conditioned by the deadlock in Brussels and the postponement of the decision to 15 May on the new Basel 3 rules. Great Britain, supported by Sweden, Poland and the Czech Republic, insists on being able to apply stricter requirements to its institutions, Germany and France oppose to avoid a bull run that also affects their banks.
The focus now remains on the macro data arriving from the US: weekly claims for unemployment benefits, productivity and labor costs.
Today, however, individual corporate events dominate Piazza Affari. Rcs jumped by 9,08% on the effect of Della Valle who said he was interested in strengthening the group's capital. Telecom Italy rises by 3,43% in the wake of the good performance of the sector in Europe. The board of directors of Telco, a shareholder with 22,5% of the group, will be held today to evaluate the 3,4 billion debt refinancing project, expiring in October.
Also good Fiat which rises by 2,58% after registrations in Italy which are weak but higher than the market. It collapses instead Finmeccanica by 3,52%, even if the pressure that in the morning led it to drop 6,5% and to be suspended for excessive downtrend, after the presentation of the accounts, eased. Bad too Juventus which drops 6,5% after the reopening of the lots for the assignment of the Scudetto.
Eyes finally focused on Ligresti galaxy: today the Antitrust, after having listened to the parties, will have to establish which acts, since they are not irreversible, can be carried out by the companies involved in the Fonsai-Unipol insurance hub pending the investigation by the authorities. Fonsai weak pending verdict yields 0,33%, Premafin unchanged and Unipol sells 1,36%. Milano Assicurazioni loses 3,33%
