Other than rate hikes. The data arriving from the US economy are forcing the "strategists" of the investment banks to redo the accounts in the light of a worsening of the economic situation which seems much more marked than expected: in May, new hires in the private sector dropped to 38 , against an expectation of 179 thousand. Meanwhile, the Ism index, which measures the trend of the manufacturing industry, fell to 53,5 against 60,4 in April (57,1 forecast).
The result? For the first time since December, the 3-year Treasury is trading at a yield of less than 1,4415 per cent while the euro rises (XNUMX) against the US currency thanks to news of the conclusion, perhaps by tomorrow, of the agreement on new loans in Athens. The conditional, however, is a must: in the morning the Frankfurter Allgemeine had froze the markets by reporting a tightening of the IMF but the news was soon overtaken by another of the opposite sign which spoke of acceleration of the negotiations.
Finally, to complete the global picture, the PMI data on the Chinese manufacturing industry confirms that the locomotive of the East is losing speed: the index has dropped to its lowest level in the last nine months.
The macro framework explains the slowdown of the markets, both in Europe and in the first part of the session on Wall Street: in Piazza Affari, the Ftse/Mib index showed a drop of 1,23% just a few minutes after the closing; same variation in Paris and Frankfurt, London instead loses 1,26. In the USA, the Dow Jones (-1,23%) is down by comparison, the Nasdaq (-0,71%) is doing better.
BANKS COME BACK UNDER FIRE
The ups and downs of rumors and data in chiaroscuro explains why, despite the calmer climate on the eurozone front, the bear has once again dominated the banking sector. Leading the decline was Banca Mps (-6,6%) which was affected by the placement, managed by Goldman Sachs, of a stock of lien of 450 million held by the Foundation. The securities, as required by the articles of association, are automatically converted into ordinary shares at the time of transfer. Banco Popolare (-3,5%), Banca Intesa (-3%) and Unicredit (-2,1%) also suffer. Bpm (-2,1%) deserves a special note, due to the conflict over proxies between the "Amici di Bpm", which controls most of the votes in the meeting, and the Bank of Italy which is asking to increase the proxies from 3 to 5 for each participant.
FIAT PLAYS THE RUSSIAN CARD
Fiat's race stops (-1,69%) which, starting today, consolidates Chrysler's accounts. But the news, for once, comes from the East. By evening, Lingotto will finally sign the agreement with the Russian Ministry of Economy which will allow the group to return to production in one of the most promising markets. The news comes from Economy Ministry auto chief Dmitry Levchenkov, who added that four foreign automakers and their partners have reached an agreement to invest a total of $5 billion. For Fiat, in particular, the commitment (supported by the incentives provided for by Russian law) is for 1,1 billion in investments for a plant capable of assembling 120 vehicles a year.
According to Automotive News Europe, Fiat plans to launch a compact sedan in China and Russia based on the new Dodge Caliber to be introduced in the US next January. The sedan in question will go into production in China in the second half of this year while it has not been announced when the launch in Russia will take place.
This version will be followed at the end of 2013 by the launch of another sedan again in China and Russia, which will use the platform of the Dodge Avenger which will debut in the United States the same year.
Some industrial stocks, however, stood out on the upside on a down day. In particular, after the flattering judgments of Berenberg (target price raised to 11 euro) Brembo climbs (+1,4%) . Also noteworthy are the exploits of Nice (+25) and of the Brescia-based pocket multinational Sabaf (+3.3%).
TOD'S, LUXURY RAISES ITS HEAD
While awaiting the placement price of Prada, which will be unveiled next Monday in Hong Kong, luxury is recovering thanks to its "rival" Diego Della Valle. Tod's stock (+2,63%) leads the ranking of the increases of the blue chips. Meanwhile, in the USA, Deutsche Bank cuts Tiffany's outlook (from buy to hold) after the sharp rises following a quarterly quarter much higher than forecasts.
