The markets must resign themselves to spending a Christmas without Qe. In today's board meeting, which left rates unchanged, the president Mario Draghi took his time and he postponed the intervention until the new year, that is when new economic data will be available and the first assessment of the activities already launched in recent months will be made.
The Stock Exchanges did not take these words well, taking the downward path. Milano it closed down by 2,7%, the black spot in Europe, weighed down above all, as expected, by the banking sector. At the bottom of the Ftse Mib Mps (-4,55%), Unicredit (-4,08%), Mediobanca (-3,97%), Bper (-3,74%). Worst title ever though Cnh Industrial (-4,98%). The only stock up on the Ftse Mib is Telecom Italy (+ 1,58%).
Lo BTP-Bund spread following Draghi's words, it widened to 130 basis points and a yield above 2% to close at 125 and a yield of 1,97%. However, the other European Stock Exchanges are also in strong red: Paris -1,55% London -0,55% Frankfurt -1,21%.
Shanghai it closed up 4,1% on expectations of further monetary easing by the Chinese central bank. Tokyo instead it closed at +0,94%, also supported by polls by the main Japanese media according to which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is preparing to win at least 300 of the 475 seats in the Lower House in the early elections of 14 December.
The change euro dollar raised its head to 1,2434 (+1%), while the ruble recovered after the central bank announced that it was "ready to intervene on the currency market if necessary, without limits and without preliminary announcements".
Il Petroleum Wti is still losing ground: -1,54%, to 66,34 dollars a barrel, after Saudi Arabia has decided to cut prices on its deliveries of crude oil to the USA. For some, OPEC's intention, which would be confirmed by this move, is to embarrass the American production of shale gas, which has higher extraction costs than that of the Arab countries.
Wall Street travels in decidedly negative territory weighed down by energy stocks, as well as by Draghi's words. In the US, initial applications for unemployment benefits fell by 17 to 297.000 in the week ending November 29, below the expectations of analysts who expected a decline to 295.
