Brexit, infections, economic forecasts, stalemate in the US aid plan: the mix weakens the markets, which are experiencing another day marked by weakness and profit-taking. European stocks close in the red, while Wall Street proceeds in negative territory after yesterday's mixed session. Business Square it loses 0,97%, reaching 21.702 points; Frankfurt -1,36%: Paris -0,76%; Madrid -1,44%; London -0,9%.
The sales of bank securities weigh on the euro zone indices, pending a decision by the ECB on dividends next week. Second Bloomberg, the orientation of the European regulators is to extend the general ban on the distribution of profits, even if there could be exceptions to allow institutions, with sufficient and demonstrated financial solidity, to remunerate members.
There is also a growing pessimism about whether the European Union and Great Britain will find an agreement on their trade relations by Sunday. For the leaders of the two fronts, Ursula von der Leyen and Boris Johnson, a no deal separation by the end of the year is now the most probable scenario.
Secondo Reuters the British currency is almost fully incorporating the hypothesis of a divorce without any commercial agreement between London and Brussels. The euro appreciated against the pound by 0,46%, bringing the exchange rate to 0,9168. On the other hand, the euro-dollar dropped slightly to 1,21.
The trust supported by the launch of vaccination in Great Britain and the imminent green light from the USA also leaves room for perplexity in the face of the constant growth of infections and deaths from Covid 19 on both sides of the Atlantic, a fact that forces many countries European and some US states to new lockdowns, with inevitable repercussions on growth. There
Germany, for example, is hypothesizing harsh restrictions, such as those in March, while France is preparing for an armored New Year by deploying 100 police officers to enforce the curfew on December 31st. Events that go well with the pessimistic scenarios of the ECB and with the concerns expressed yesterday by Christine Lagarde. Bankitalia today corrects its 2020 forecasts for the better for Italy, -9%, but limits the rebound for the next three years: +3,5% in 2021, +3,8% in 2022, +2,3% in 2023. In detail, "the product would decrease in the quarter underway and would remain weak at the beginning of 2021, to then return to expand at a significant pace in the central part of 2021, thanks to the assumed improvement in the health situation and the effect of economic policy measures".
Meanwhile European Union leaders yesterday unblocked the 1,8 billion euro ($2,18 billion) financial package to help the economy recover from the pandemic-induced recession, but in the US, the fiscal stimulus appears unlikely after Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested disputes over a spending package could drag on into Christmas.
Furthermore, on the vaccine front, the news is in chiaroscuro: while the Pfizer-Biontech tandem proceeds quickly and will probably receive the green light today from the FDA, Sanofi (-3,4% in Paris) e GlaxoSmithKline (+0,2% in London) announce that their vaccine will only be available at the end of 2021, because the development program "has been delayed to improve the immune response in older people".
In Piazza Affari, sales penalize in the first place Telecom, -3,94%. The stock suffers from the downgrade by Moody's which lowered the rating to Ba2 with a negative outlook, but the sector has lost throughout Europe. The session was particularly negative for Telefonica (-8,4% in Madrid), following the decision of the English Competition Authority to subject the merger between Virgin Media and O2 (English provider of the Spanish group) to in-depth investigation.
Male Leonardo, -3,54%, subject to profit taking, in light of the group's exposure to the United Kingdom in view of a hard Brexit.
Declining banks from Bper -3,3%, together with the shareholder Unipol -2,51%
Stable Ferrari, +0,31%, despite the resignation with immediate effect of CEO Louis Camilleri for personal reasons.
Queen of the price list is once again Moncler, +2,41%, still celebrating the purchase of Stone Island. Well nexi +1,28% and Amplifon +1,72%. It bounces Inwit +1,27%. Purchases reward Atlantia +1,48%, which started quietly due to the umpteenth extension of the time frame for the offer led by CDP on ASPI
Curtain Ivy (-1,03%) that it is ally for waste oils with Eni (-1,43%). Oil stocks are weak, while oil futures are down slightly Petroleum after the exploit the day before: Brent 49,93 dollars a barrel, -0,65%.
Seat in red for the Italian secondary: lo spread with the German ten-year it rises to 115 basis points (+2,67%), even if the rates remain low (+0,52% for the Btp).
