And, after a thousand fears, the day of the Fed came. Waiting for Jerome Powell's words, Wall Street faltered several times: the S&P500 index came to lose more than 2,5% at the opening, then during the afternoon it recovered, canceling the decrease, but in the last half hour the sales returned. At the end the balance is negative, but not disastrous: -1,2%. The Nasdaq fell 2,3% to 13.540 points, its lowest since October for a close, but had fallen as low as 13.094 points during the session the day before. The Dow Jones, also thanks to the +9% of American Express and the +5,5% of International Business Machines, recorded a limited decrease of 0,2%. Tonight, after the Fed's message, data from AT&T, Boeing, Intel, Tesla, Apple and Meta will come out. Finally, after the Stock Exchange, Microsoft lost 5%, despite the growth in revenues and profits of 20% in the fourth quarter.
This is the picture of the US market awaiting the inflation contrast plan which could mark the end of the unconditional support guaranteed in recent years by the central bank to the stock market. Or, as happened in 2016, the tightening will be less severe than expected and the market will restart. For now, Europe seems partially sheltered, given the dovish attitude of the ECB. But, given the trend in inflation, the risk of a slowdown in the markets is high.
While waiting for the developments, the stock markets in Asia Pacific are little moved. Tokyo Nikkei -0,2%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0,2%. Chinese techs thwarted: Alibaba -1,5%, Baidu +3%, JD.com +2%. CSI 300 of the Shanghai and Shenzen lists +0,3%, the index moves close to the Bear area, having lost 2020% from the highs of February 19. Kospi of Seoul -0,3%.
The 1,77-year Treasury Note is quiet at a 1.847% yield. Gold is on November levels, at 2,7 dollars an ounce. Brent oil and WTI down slightly from yesterday's +13,4%. The Biden administration approved the release of an additional XNUMX million barrels of crude oil from strategic reserves to bolster supply chain replenishment.
FT: TODAY PUTIN MEETS THE BIG OF THE ITALIAN ECONOMY
Il Financial Times Italy launched the case this morning: a conference call is scheduled today between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the CEOs of some of the major Italian companies, including Pirelli, Eni, Generali and Unicredit, to discuss bilateral economic ties. The conference, scheduled for November, was not suspended in the face of tensions on the Ukrainian front, but it is an event scheduled at an unsuspecting time by the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce.
IMF: GROWTH AT THE HOLD. ITALY DOWN TO +3,8%
The Stock Exchanges of the Old Continent have managed to distance themselves from the negative performance of Wall Street and to end trading with a plus sign. Not bad, especially if one takes into account the possible sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian crisis and the slowdown in the estimates of the world economy by the Monetary Fund, cut by 0,5% (while the flame in prices will be longer than expected). The revisions of the two main economies in the world weigh above all: the United States (-1,2 percentage points to 4%) and China (-0,8 percentage points to 4,8%). For Italy, the forecast goes to +3,8% from 4,2%. A trend in line with the Eurozone (+3,9%), similar to Germany and France (+3,5%), but clearly lower than Spain (+5,8%). Furthermore, on the macro front, the German Ifo surprised on the upside in the morning, in line with what the PMIs show.
SPREAD TO 143. THE BUND RISES TO -0,12%
The ten-year BTP closed positively, with a yield that changed little at 1,359% (from 1,3608%) at the previous closing. The Bund trades at -0,12%
The spread stabilizes around 143 points (from 145). The spread between 10-year and 30-year rates stood at 71,4, narrower than the 70,9 level of the previous final.
MINI RECOVERY FOR MILAN, ABOVE 26 THOUSAND
Piazza Affari, after the 4% loss suffered in the first session of the week, recovered only 0,22%, however enough to bring it back over 26 thousand, to 26.028 basis points.
The Dax 100 of Frankfurt (+0,73%) and the Cac 40 of Paris (+0,74%) do better, in line with Madrid. London, the best list, rose by 1,02%.
SWATCH AND CREDIT SUISSE SUFFER IN ZURICH
On the Zurich Stock Exchange, Logitech stands out among the technological (+6,71%). The revenues of the Swatch flagship watch are flying (turnover rising by double digits), but the title closes at -3,87%.
Crédit Suisse, on the other hand, fell (-1%), to a 20-month low after estimating a probable net loss in the fourth quarter due to rising legal costs and the slowdown in trading and wealth management activities.
The TLC rally continues. The hare was Ericsson (+7,6%), which reported better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter, boosted by the prospects for 5G.
LEONARDO UNDER FIRE FOR INVESTIGATION IN KUWAIT
Under fire at Piazza Affari Leonardo (-5,4%). The company responded with a note to this morning's news, specifying that it is not the subject of a judicial investigation in relation to the Kuwait programme, "which continues in line with the contract", adds Leonardo. L'Associated Press reports that two senior Kuwaiti army officers will be tried for corruption. The story is that of the purchase of 28 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter planes, an order worth 8,7 billion dollars.
UNICREDIT RISES, NEW AZIMUTH STOP
The banks were also negative with the exception of Unicredit (+2,6%), which was in turmoil before the appointment with the accounts on Friday. The other credit companies contrasted: Intesa Sanpaolo +0,9%, Bper and Mediobanca -0,7%, Banco Bpm -1,1%.
The asset management companies were also sold: Azimut left 4% on the ground.
OIL PRODUCTS START AGAIN, PHOTO BY A2A
The oil sector is in great shape, penalized by the retracement of Brent in recent days: Eni +1,6%, Saipem +0,5%, Tenaris +1,7%.
The utilities, recently neglected on expectations of a rate hike, but which in this phase are perceived as anti-cyclical also in view of the Pnrr, have been collected. A2A leaps by 2,2% just a few days after the presentation of the update of the business plan to 2030. Rivals Iren and Acea are stable.
WEAK STELLANTIS AND CNH, JUVENTUS REVIEWS
The appointment with the Stellantis rebound is missing (-1,11%), in contrast with the rest of the European sector (+0,5% the Eurostoxx). Cnh -0,91%.
Only the Juventus stock runs (+3,3%) on the wave of the news of thepurchase of Dusan Vlahovic.
NEGATIVE DIASORIN, MARZOCCHI ROOMS ON THE EGM
Diasorin still down (-0,9%), on the lowest since 10 April 2020 (-5,7% on Monday), penalized by the news of an indictment for insider trading of CEO Carlo Rosa, to which the company has renewed confidence. The broker Banca Akros writes that "the news is negative, but it is a personal matter that does not involve the company in any way". Marzocchi (+3,5%), a company active in the high-performance pump and motor sector, is on the Egm after the accounts.
