THE BEAR TAKES A (LITTLE) BREAK
WAITING FOR THE COMMUNICATION OF THE FED
The frantic ups and downs of the European stock exchanges continues while we await the release of the Federal Reserve, scheduled for 20 pm Italian time. In the meantime, the stock markets of the Old Continent find comfort in the steady start of Wall Street. The stock exchanges of London (+15%) and Paris (+1,89%) are positive, while Frankfurt loses (-1,63%). In Milan, the FtseMib index rose by 0,1%, the Ftse/mib index at 0,52. The fear of a sharp slowdown in the global economy reigns supreme. But in some cases the first re-coverings have already taken place in the afternoon. This is the case of mining (European Stoxx of the sector +15.721%), of construction companies (+2,6%) and of the car (+2,2%), the preferred target of sales under the sign of recession syndrome. Oil returns to recover positions, after the crash of the morning. The latest WTI prices indicate 1,6 dollars for a barrel. In Milan, Eni confirms the drop of 81,3%, but Saipem, this morning in a very strong drop, is now positive and rises by 1,15%.
THE BTP REBOUND HELPS THE BANKS
FIAT STILL ON THE ROLLER COASTER
The improvement of the BTPs, which mark a yield of 5,1% and a spread on the Bund of 277 basis points, helps the banks which are largely positive: Intesa +1,16%, Banco Popolare +2,75% Monte Paschi +1,57%. Unicredit ends in a tie. After a catastrophic start, Fiat is recovering: from a drop of 7,7% this morning it has now gone on to mark an increase of 3,25%. Impregilo +2,84% and Pirelli +2,77% were also positive. Exor rebounds by 2,33%. Parmalat rose sharply +4,94% while Telecom Italia and Enel, the two stocks that best withstood the latest storms, lost 1,89% and 0,77% respectively.
WALL STREET WAIT AND ASSESS THE DAMAGE
P/E DROPPED 11,3 TIMES
In the first part of the session, the United States Stock Exchange rebounded after having recorded its worst session since December 2008: around 18 pm Italian time, the Dow Jones index rose by 1,62%, the S&P500 by 2,26% and the Nasdaq by 2,8%. The dollar weakens against major currencies, and gold retreats to 1.737 dollars an ounce after pushing up to 1.779 dollars an ounce this morning. Wall Street is awaiting the words of Fed Chairman Ben Bernank and the statement with which this evening (20,15 pm Italian time) the Fed will announce the conclusions of the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee), the monetary policy committee of the US central bank . From the Bloomberg panel, it emerges that economists do not expect news in terms of interest rates but the confirmation that the current expansionary policy (the reference rate on the dollar is at 0,25%) will remain unchanged for a long time. Furthermore, some expect that at a forthcoming meeting of the FOMC, the Fed will decide to adopt new tools to support economic growth. Since April 29, the S&P500 index has lost 18% and the combined market capitalization of the 500 companies that compose it has fallen to 11,3 times the estimated earnings for 2011. The lowest level of the S&P P/E was 9,52 in 2008. . Banks rebound, in particular Bank of America up 5% in the aftermath of the 20,5% collapse that brought it back to the levels of April 2009. Since the beginning of the year, the title of the first US bank by value of assets it halved due to the spread of fears about its ability to withstand the impact of the crisis.
