The red wave on the markets, set in motion by tensions between the United States and North Korea, eased in the afternoon, but did not subside. Piazza Affari closed down by 0,91%, 21.848 points, with Buzzi -3,28% and Fiat -2,11% at the bottom of the list. The race for safe-haven assets favors gold (+0,98%, 1273,188 dollars an ounce), the Swiss franc and the Bund. The appeal of the German 10-year bond increases the spread with XNUMX-year BTPs, +4,29%, 157.90 basis points; the yield returns to 2,01% despite the Istat data released today, on the good performance of Italian industrial production in June.
The other squares of the Old Continent are weak. The worst is Zurich, -1,5%, which pays for the leap in the franc. The single currency loses 1% against the Swiss currency, but remains stable against the dollar. Bad Paris -1,4%, penalized by a new, alleged attack, with a car that hit six soldiers in Levallois-Perret, on the outskirts of the capital. Negative balance for Madrid -1,29% and Frankfurt -1,12%. Fractional reduction for London -0,59%.
Wall Street opens weak and is still moving in negative territory. The Dow 30 is weighted by Walt Disney, after i quarterly accounts released yesterday and farewell to Netflix (negative in turn). The entertainment giant has announced that, from 2019, it will stop providing its films to the online platform, to focus on the launch of new streaming video services.
Oil uncertain after the data on US weekly inventories provided by the EIA. Crude oil and distillates are lower than expected, while gasoline inventories surprisingly exceed forecasts. Brent +0,36%, 52,33 dollars a barrel.
Among the Italian blue chips, Buzzi is still stunned by the Antitrust fine for anti-competitive conduct. Financials were weak, the worst being Banca Generali -1,93% and Mediobanca, -1,82%. Banks are in red Banco Bpm, -1,2%, Unicredit, -1,8%, Intesa, -1,3%, Ubi, -1,4%, despite the June drop in bad debts of Italian institutions. According to Bank of Italy, the gross ones decreased from 202,1 billion in May to 192 billion, while the net ones from 76,5 billion to 71,2 billion. Heavy sitting for Stm, -1,69%.
Modest gains in the main basket: at the top of the list Brembo +0,7%; Leonardo +0,48%; Recorded +0,45%; Atlantia +0,23%; Moncler +0,13%. Il Sole 24 Ore shines outside the main basket, recovering almost 10% after signing a contract with Palamon Capital Partners LP for the sale of 49% of Business School 24, a newly established company to which the company branch with which the issuer currently carries out activities in the training sector will be transferred in advance.
