Luxury stocks are overshadowed, disappointed by post-Covid Chinese growth and by the accounts of Richemont (-9,97%), but the timidly positive trend of Wall Street allows European financial markets to partially limit the damage in the closing. The optimism of the secretary to the Treasury helps to lend a hand Janet Yellen according to which "the United States is making progress in bringing inflation down". They are "on a good economic path" and no recession is expected. Among the titles soaring Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), (1%) and Tesla (2%), which push upwards the Nasdaq (+ 0,6%).
In context the dollar stabilizes against a basket of currencies, after the worst weekly decline of the year in the last eighth. L'euro maintains a change around 1,123.
Europe in red and Wall Street in progress
The picture of the financial markets is therefore of the opposite sign on both sides of the Atlantic.
Business Square archives the first session of the week with a loss of 0,19% at 28.608 basis points. To make up for sales on Moncler (-2,91%) And nexi (-2,89%) provide Leonardo (+ 2,52%), Cnh (+2,53%) and the banks.
In the rest of the continent it is flat Madrid, they are negative London -0,36% Amsterdam -0,7% and Frankfurt -0,19%. Alarm bells are also ringing from Germany for the continent's growth with the Bundesbank seeing the German economy contract more this year than it forecast a few weeks ago, despite a small rebound in the second quarter.
Returning to the financial markets: Paris e Zurich suffer the heaviest losses, -1,12% and -1,21% respectively. The first is in red due to the decline in big names (lvmh -2,98%), still very sensitive to the Chinese market. The other is weighed down by the thud of the second luxury group in the world, owner of Cartier, which also disappointed with quarterly results below expectations, despite the good contribution from China.
The warm fronts
It is precisely from the Celestial Empire that, since the European morning, winds have blown against the risk appetite, driven by disappointing macroeconomic data starting from the Chinese GDP growth in the second quarter by 6,3%, below market expectations which were above 7%, also because the comparison was with a period in which the anti-pandemic closures still dominated.
The reflections were not long in coming on commodities and the trend continues to be weak for gold futures and Petroleum (Brent -0,9%, 78,16 dollars a barrel).
Yellen too, speaking with Bloomberg and despite reassurances about inflation and a recession, he said slow Chinese growth could also have negative spillovers in the United States.
Little reassuring news then arrived from the Russian-Ukrainian front, with Moscow having decided not to extend the wheat deals of the Black Sea, expiring today.
The voice of the president of the ECB was also heard on the issues of war, prices and trade Christine Lagard, that geopolitical tensions risk accelerating the change in the global landscape. “Russia's war against Ukraine has unleashed a massive shock to the global economy, especially to energy and food markets, and the economies of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern European countries (Cesee) have been particularly exposed,” with inflation peaking at 13%. Now "geopolitical tensions risk accelerating the second change in the global landscape: weakening global trade", a dynamic to which "Europe is vulnerable".
Piazza Affari solid with Leonardo and banks
Despite the many uncertainties, Piazza Affari closes just below the waterline.
Queen of the list is CNH, but Leonardo is just a few steps away, thanks to an assignment worth around 134 million euros from the British Ministry of Defense for the development of the new phase of the 'Excalibur Flight Test Aircraft' project. Banca Akros confirms the buy on the stock and estimates that the new order intake and the group's operating free cash flow will be particularly strong.
Banks are almost all green as of Bpm bank +1,97%, which has entered into a strategic partnership with the Bcc Iccrea group and with the FSI in digital payments. By symmetry Nexi, which was in the race to win the agreement with Banco Bpm, is one of the worst blue chips of the day.
Going back to the banks, they closed an excellent session Bper +1,92% and Unicredit +1,06%. The bank led by Andrea Orcel, according to what he writes Bloomberg, plans to cut an additional 500 million euros in costs in an attempt to offset higher-than-expected inflation.
They are more secluded today Understanding +0,19% and Mediobanca +0,44%, while Ps loses 0,16%. Still in the area of financial stocks, they are positive Unipol +0,53% and Azimuth +0,43%, while Finecobank loses 1,06%.
Energies make their way with Erg +0,96%, while marking fractional declines Eni -0,98% and Saipem -0,49%.
As mentioned, among the sectors most affected is fashion, represented on the Ftse Mib by Moncler, but also record declines of more than one percentage point Interpump -2,24% Campari -1,66% Diasorin -1,72% stm -1,1% Pirelli -1,17%.
Moderately higher spreads
The Italian secondary market closed in the red: lo spread between 10-year BTPs and Bunds of the same duration, it rises to 171 basis points (+1,51%), with rates of 4,16% and 2,45% respectively.
Good news comes however for inflation in the beautiful country. In fact, Istat confirms that in June growth stops at 6,4%, with no cyclical variation, as has not happened since May 2021 and after the increases of 0,3% on month and 7,6% on year recorded in May.
