Piazza Affari ends once again as queen in Europe with an increase of 0,79% (21.706 points), driven by the prospect that Bper (+4,14%) and Banco Bpm (+3,66%) rekindle the risk banking in Italy. Meanwhile, the measures to contain the pandemic in the various regions are starting to take effect and the contagion curve seems to be flattening out.
The performance of the main Milanese price list fits into a positive but slightly more cautious European context: Frankfurt +0,4%; Paris +0,39%; Madrid +0,62%; London +0,25%. Among the reasons for prudence is the fact that the climate remains uncertain on Wall Street (game in decline), still shaken by the post-election and by the ongoing institutional clashes, while the pandemic runs, the daily infections reach another record (187.833 new cases ) and some States are forced to take restrictive measures. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin today defends the Federal Reserve's decision to end several pandemic loan programs starting Dec. 31 (a move that has drawn unusual criticism from the central bank), saying Congress should use the money to support small US businesses with non-refundable aid.
According to Mnuchin, the government has "enormous firepower" to provide the necessary aid and he will meet with Republican leaders in Congress to prepare a draft for a targeted aid plan; after which the intention would be to meet the Democrats in the coming weeks to reach an agreement. The dollar raises its head, even if it is starting to file the week with a loss due to the newfound risk appetite due to the recent positive news on the anti-Covid 19 vaccines. The euro-greenback exchange rate is around 1,185.
The single currency is slightly down against the pound to 0,892 (-0,25%), while good macroeconomic news comes from the British front, where retail sales grew by 1,2% in October, beyond expectations. Oil is in progress, with Brent crude appearing to have targeted $45 and is currently up 0,35% to $44,35 a barrel.
The day in Piazza Affari was enlivened above all by Bper, Unipol (+3,79%) and Banco Bpm. The dust was set on fire by an interview with the CEO of the insurance group Carlo Cimbri, with Il Sole 24 ore. It should be recalled that Unipol is the main shareholder of Bper. Well, Cimbri defined the hypothesis of a merger between the two banks "fascinating, both from an industrial point of view and because it would be a major Italian project". His assessment is also based on numbers: "The banking sector would consolidate with a group of 300 billion assets, mainly in Northern Italy, with important market shares in the most productive regions of the country and extremely significant economies of scale".
On the other side Banco Bpm CEO Carlo Castagna does not close the door to this perspective: “the bank is interested in exploring merger operations with a strong industrial value aimed at creating value for the shareholders. In this perspective - he says - we welcome the statements of Dr. Cimbri, CEO of Unipol, main shareholder of Bper, in relation to a possible consolidation operation".
The vivacity on these stocks has infected Anima, +5,97% (20% controlled by Banco Bpm), because the market sees a probable merger with Arca, an asset management company headed by Bper. Stm did well in other sectors, +2,23%; Terna +2,53% (highest since the beginning of the pandemic); Prismian +2,17%. Neglected Fiat, -0,46%, after the go-ahead from the Dutch authorities for the prospectus for the listing of the new holding company with Psa, Stellantis. Sales penalize Telecom -1,8%: Saipem -1,52%; Camparis -1,27%.
Lively in the luxury sector Moncler, +1,38%, of which HSBC has raised the target price, Tod's +2,03% and Brunello Cucinelli, +5,38%, the latter after the founder and president of the luxury brand showed optimism about the post-Covid recovery, confirming all the short and long-term growth objectives. Kepler Cheuvreux raised the rating to "hold" from "reduce". The bond is stable: the spread between Italian and German ten-year bonds rises to 118 basis points (+0,41%), but the BTP yield falls to +0,59%.
