The damages from the pandemic and those that could come from a new commercial tug of war between the US and China are curbing risk appetite and sending the stock markets into the red. Piazza Affari closed down, -0,73%, a fluctuating session right from the start and worse in Frankfurt -1,44%; Paris -1,15%; London -0,86%. Only Madrid is saved +0,07%. Wall Street, which started below parity, continues to decline after various hesitations.
The hope of recovery thanks to the end of the lockdown, collides with the certainty of the losses of the economy in the closing phase and with the doubts induced by the US-China tensions.
The Italians are trying hard, as evidenced by the historical record of orders of new Btp, which at the end (including institutional ones) reached the unprecedented figure of 22,3 billion euros. In contrast, however, there is the state of the current crisis, relentlessly photographed by Mediobanca in a report on the effects of Covid 19 on the first quarter of 2020 of industrial and service companies listed on the Ftse Mib as well as the negative record of 835 million of layoff hours in April. "Stock market value, revenues, margins, dividends: the pandemic impacts on all indicators" warns the Mediobanca report and manufacturing has never been this bad for at least 30 years.
A hurricane that hit the 25 most important companies which, at the end of March, represented 76% of the total capitalization (excluding banks and insurance companies), for a total market value of 288 billion. "In the first quarter of 2020 - reads a note - their capitalization decreased by -22,4%, with a loss of 83 billion". Revenues are also falling especially that of manufacturing which yields 11,8%.
The shares of Oil companies were most affected by the sales, also in today's session: Tenaris -4,92%; Saipem -3,94%; Eni -2,46%. Among the day's best-selling stocks Generali, -2,98%, after the results which highlighted the prospect of a reduction in operating profit this year, despite a better-than-expected performance in the first quarter.
Banks are bad: Banco Bpm, -3,38%; Ubi -2,46%. Among Leonardo industrialists, -3,57%. Brilliant session instead for Nexi, +7,68%, following rumors about more stringent talks for a possible merger with rival Sia. Banca Mediolanum did well +2,71%; Exor +1,93%; Atlantia +1,76%.
The low propensity for risk touches bonds slightly: the spread between 10-year BTPs and Bunds of the same duration rises to 212 basis points (+1,23%) and the Italian ten-year rate rises to 1,62%.
The euro-dollar reverses course, after a series of sessions in favor of the single currency, in the perspective of a more cohesive and supportive European Union. The exchange rate moves around 1,095.
Gold retreats, losing more than a point and a half, and trades at 1723,65 dollars an ounce. Oil, on the other hand, continues its recovery march and Brent exceeds 36 dollars a barrel.
