The prospect of a rate hike by the Fed and the fall in oil (which then recovered) have sunk European stock markets but have not frightened Wall Street. Piazza Affari loses 1,84%, worst among the European lists, Paris -1,15%, London -1,12% and Frankfurt -1,34%. On the German list, sales overwhelm E.On which loses over 14% after the spin off of the Uniper division.
In the afternoon, the governor of the Federal Reserve of Atlanta, Dennis Lockhart, spoke on the subject of interest rates, stating that the American economy "is progressing and is not in a stalled phase", therefore it has the necessary momentum to achieve the objectives set by the Federal Reserve and the macroeconomic data received so far "allow for a serious discussion" on a possible increase in interest rates. But once again no timing on the path to rate hikes.
After the words of Lockhart, considered one of the "doves" of American monetary policy, US stock futures have more than halved losses. After a start in the red, the indices managed to regain altitude thanks to the push of the TLCs. The Dow Jones rose 0,38%, the S&P 0,54% and the Nasdaq 0,82%.
Even oil reversed course in the afternoon, moving into positive territory: Brent rose by 0,94% to 48,46 dollars a barrel and Wti by 1,07% to 46,37 dollars a barrel. Keep an eye on the forthcoming data on US inventories after the surprise collapse of stocks in the first week of September and the OPEC meeting in Algiers at the end of September. The euro-dollar exchange rate is stable at 1,22905.
On the corporate front, the maxi merger between the Canadian fertilizer giants Agrium and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan is the protagonist: the operation creates one of the largest global groups in the sector with an annual turnover of 20,6 billion dollars. As part of the deal, a "merger of equals", Potash investors will receive 0,4 shares of the new company's common stock for each stock they currently hold and Agrium's investors will get 2,23 shares of the new company's common stock. new group for each one they already own.
The Btp-Bund spread closes at 123 basis points and a yield of 1,28%. The Treasury has awarded all 6,75 billion euros in the auction Bots at one year. The interest rate rose to -0,175% from -0,190% in August. Demand reached 9,693 billion.
In Piazza Affari, sales hit above all Unipol -4,02%, Saipem -3,77%, Bmps -3,43% and Unipolsai -3,19%. Would you join after the joint offer of Poste, Anima and Cdp. Eni cuts its losses but closes in the red by 1,53%. Recovery also for Telecom Italia which during the session lost up to 4% and then closed down by 1,93%. Only two stocks up on the Ftse Mib: Moncler +1,06% and Italcementi +0,09%.
