China and oil. Markets discover two obstacles in the way of the bull rally, which started after the Greece deal. Fears held back Wall Street: the Standard & Poor's 500 lost 0,3%, less than the Nasdaq -0,1% but more than the Dow Jones -0,5%. The behavior of the European price lists is similar. In Piazza Affari, the Ftse/Mib index fell by 1%, Paris lost 1,3%, the same as Frankfurt, London -1,1%. Same script on the Asian markets. The Nikkei 225 is down -0,54%, after the holiday break, Hong Kong's Hang Seng loses 0,55%.
The price lists welcomed the approval of the Brussels agreements by the Greek Parliament without particular enthusiasm. On the contrary, everywhere the i signs of slowing down of the Chinese Dragon: the slowdown in iron consumption, denounced by major suppliers, led by Bhp Billiton; the slowdown in car purchases; the fall in real estate prices in 45 cities.
Another negative note: the impact of the expensive crude on inflationboth in Europe and in the USA. In short, it is not yet the time to let our guard down, as the central bank points out. Indeed, according to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, “the economy still presents challenges. Unemployment is still high and this creates problems for everyone”. However, Bernanke added to CNBC, the nation's long-term prospects are "very good".
Speaking of crude oil, it is worth noting the vigorous and almost unprecedented position taken by Saudi oil minister Ali Naimi. High oil prices, he said, are "unjustified", adding that Riyadh is ready, if necessary, to increase production by 25% "The reason for these increases escapes me - added Naimi - The situation 'is very different from 2008: today there is a supply surplus of 1-1,2 million barrels per day".
The price of oil dropped yesterday: Wti was traded at 106,5 dollars a barrel (-1,4%), Brent is at 124 dollars (-1,2%). In parallel, oil stocks fell. Eni –1,2%, Tenaris -4%, Saipem -1,5% In Italy, the spotlights turned on today at the Piazza Affari to verify the reaction of the markets to the reform of the labor market.
Meanwhile, the wait for one of the most uncertain and fought elections in the history of Confindustria: Alberto Bombassei or Girogio Squinzi, we'll decide tomorrow Meanwhile, the influx of bookings for the 4-year Btp Italia bookable via the web continues to amaze. Yesterday evening, two days after the expiry of the offer (the first of a series), the title had already collected 3,3 billion bookings, almost double the Treasury's target.
On the bond front, the spread between Bunds and BTPs is growing again: the differential between ten-year German and Italian government bonds has risen to 286 basis points, an increase of 2,77% compared to yesterday's close at 279.
On the Stock Exchange, the worst sector was that of cars with the Stoxx index of the sub-fund falling by 4%, driven downwards by Daimler -4,3%, BMW -5% and Volkswagen -5,3%. Fiat also lost 3,8%, Pirelli -2,2%, Fiat Industrial -2,4%. Behind the decline in auto companies are the statements of Gu Xianghua, deputy secretary of the Association of Chinese Auto Manufacturers, who said that auto sales in China in 2012 will grow by less than the 8% expected so far, probably by 5%.
But the CEO of Fiat Sergio Marchionne, this time in the role of president of the European manufacturers, took the opportunity to underline once again that the European industry "complains about an excess of production capacity in the order of 20%" and that, to resolve the crisis "a restructuring led by Europe because no State will shoulder the burden”. And speaking of Italy, Marchionne was, as usual, clear: “Mario Monti is doing a magnificent job. Without him we would not have approved the investments for Mirafiori".
Even luxury companies have suffered from the Chinese fever, now the first world market in the sector: Lvmh dropped in Paris by 2,3%, Ferragamo lost 2,1%, Tod's -1,4%. Among industrial stocks, Finmeccanica lost 2,1%, Prysmian fell 2,5%, StM -0,9%. Up Diasorin +2,6% and Telecom Italia +2,9%. Day of weakness also for the banks: Banco Popolare -1,5%. Sales on Intesa SanPaolo -1,8%, Unicredit -0,7% and MontePaschi -1,7%.
On the day of the presentation of the Palladio-Sator plan, an alternative to the four-party merger advocated by Mediobanca, the race for Premafin + 7% does not stop. Unipol -2,4% and Fondiaria-Sai -0,7% are down. Generali fell -2,08% on the day of accounts. The Lion of Trieste closed 2011 with a profit halved to 856 million after having written down more than one billion between Greek bonds (472 million) and the Telecom share (unit value of the securities lowered to 1,5 euro). At the meeting, which will be renewed at the Gabriele Galateri residence, a dividend of 20 cents (against 45) will be proposed. The happy notes come from industrial management: the solvency ratio, after the recovery of government securities, has risen to 132%; operating income was 3,9 billion (against 4,1), the combined ratio (the index that measures the incidence of claims and management costs on premiums) improved by 2,3 points to 96,5% . Among the mid caps, strong rise by Prelios +11%. Seat Pagine Gialle rose by 4,4%
