The short week of the financial markets opens on the upside, in view of the approach of Easter and the spring holidays in Japan.
The race is led by the Csi 300 index of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges (+2,2%). Tokyo's Nikkei (+1,5%) is at its highest since December. Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0,5% and Seoul's Kospi +0,6% also advanced.
Brent oil was trading at $71,4 a barrel, down 0,4%. The data released at the end of the week by Baker Hughes signal a significant increase in exploration activity in the United States: the number of drilling rigs in action grew for the second consecutive week.
Third consecutive drop in gold, down 0,2% (to $1.289) from last Friday.
THIS IS ABOUT THE WARRANTIES, GOLDMAN ACCOUNTS TODAY
The good results of the US quarterly results on Friday, the positive expectation at this point for the accounts of Goldman Sachs and Citicorp due out in the afternoon and the developments in the negotiations between Washington and Beijing contribute to favoring the bull run. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said that the negotiations are going ahead by telephone and video conference, there will probably no longer be a need for new trips to Beijing even if the negotiations, now very advanced, are so complex that a signature will not be reached before June. Reuters wrote that the United States has decided to renounce, or at least to soften, the request to China to cancel public subsidies to industry, a strategic issue for Beijing.
NOTES OF OPTIMISM FROM THE IMF, DRAGHI SUPPORTS POWELL
The spring meetings of the Monetary Fund ended on a cautious note of optimism. Christine Lagarde, director general of the IMF, said that the situation remains "delicate" but could improve "if the right things are done", i.e. the tariff war, which has only been postponed so far, is avoided. Mario Draghi is also positive: the hard Brexit risk has vanished, he argued in Washington, and the European economy is showing good stability.
But the ECB president expressed concern about the future independence of the American central bank, on whose board Donald Trump is about to insert his loyalists Herman Cain and Stephen Moore. The risk, Draghi said, is that “people start to think that monetary decisions are taken based on political positions and not by analyzing objective economic conditions.
THE WHITE HOUSE TO THE FED'S ASSAULT
Trump himself confirmed the concerns of the president of the ECB with yet another lunge against the Federal Reserve. The US president wrote on Twitter that if the US central bank hadn't raised rates last year, GDP would have grown more and the stock market would have risen much higher. Meanwhile, to confirm his absolute monarchy methods for the most delicate choices, the president confirmed that he had seriously evaluated the appointment of his daughter Ivanka as head of the World Bank. “I thought about it – he said – because she is very good with numbers”. During the week, while awaiting the debate in Congress on the candidacies proposed by Trump, the president of the Chicago Fed, Charles Evans and Saint Louis, James Bullard, will speak. The Beige Book will also be released on Wednesday.
SPOTLIGHT ON CHINESE GDP: EXPECTED +6,3%
The most awaited macro data of the week concerns China's domestic product, which will be released on Wednesday 18. A new slowdown is expected to +1,4% in the quarter (against +1,5% in the previous year) and +6,3% on an annual basis (against 6,4%). Experts will be following the Shanghai Motor Show with great attention, an opportunity to measure the health of the most important car market in the world, recovering from the first year of declining sales.
In Europe, attention will be focused on the PMI manufacturing indices of the Eurozone which will be published on Thursday which, together with the German confidence index (Zew index) could confirm the recovery of the economy in the Old Continent.
DEF EXAMINATION UNDERWAY, BANKITALIA UPDATES DEBT
In Italy, the examination of the Def approved last week starts in Parliament this morning. So off to the usual round of hearings: Confindustria and trade unions will open the dances today on Monday, followed by Istat, Banca d'Italia, Upb and others the following day while Wednesday will be the turn of the Minister of Economy John Tria.
Today the Bank of Italy will provide the new public debt estimates pending the publication (Thursday) of the Economic Bulletin.
THE CORPORATE USA GIVES THE NUMBERS: NETFLIX AGAINST WALT DISNEY
On the corporate front, the first wave of US quarterly reports stands out after the positive debut of JP Morgan. The accounts of about fifty US blue chips will be released during the week, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citigroup, Johnson & Johnson, Netflix, grappling with the offensive by Walt Disney and Ibm.
IN COURT APPLE AND TESLA
But the plot of the US financial week, as well as on Wall Street, will also develop in the courts. The trial of the century on chips begins today: Appl and Qualcomm challenge each other in San Diego with mutual accusations of plagiarism: requests for 30 billion dollars are up for grabs. The deposition of the two contenders is expected: Steve Mollenkopf for Qualcomm, none other than Tim Cook himself for Apple.
Thursday will be the turn of Elon Musk, called by the SEC to answer before the Court of New York for the violation of the agreement with which the number one of Tesla had undertaken to abstain from price sensitive messages on Twitter. The judge has allowed the parties to settle the dispute with a joint letter by Thursday.
VIVENDI, MEMBERS AGAINST BUY BACK PRO BOLLORÉ
Battle atmosphere this morning in Paris for the Vivendi shareholders' meeting called to vote, at the request of Vincent Bolloré, a robust buyback, equal to 25% of the share capital. If the operation is successful, Bolloré, which controls 25,81%, will be able to secure a greater hold on the company, given the lower number of shares. "It's his usual strategy: to increase control without paying the price due to the shareholders" is the comment of Proxinvest, the specialized company which called the shareholders together.
NEXI, THE RICHEST IPO IN THE WORLD PASSES THROUGH THE BUSINESS PLACE
Week full of meetings for listed companies in Piazza Affari. We start this morning with Caltagirone and Falck Renewables. The appointment of Atlantia members stands out (Thursday).
The calendar provides today for the coupon detachment of six companies, including Fincantieri (0,01 euro dividend). The others are: Carraro, Autostrade Meridionali, Inwit, Wiit, Culti Milano.
Tomorrow it will debut in the Nexi price list, currently the largest IPO of 2019 not only in Europe but also worldwide. During the placement, the company that offers services and infrastructures for digital payments received requests for 5,4 billion euros from more than 340 investors from all over the world. The price was set at 9 euros for a total value of 7,3 billion and the free float on the Stock Exchange will be 35,6%, equal to 2 billion. st Ta
