INTESA AND UNICREDIT SUPPORT THE STOCK EXCHANGE
HEAVY STM, PROFIT-TAKING ON LUXURY
After a downturn, the FTSE MIB index, up 0,38% at 17.528, is attempting a major feat: its seventh consecutive rise. The recovery is being driven by banks, especially the two largest, which in turn are being driven by the narrowing spread and the rise in Crédit Suisse: Intesa Sanpaolo is up 2,93% and UniCredito is up 1,56%.
In the government bond market, the Bund-BTP spread continues to decline, albeit at a very slow pace, with the gap between Italy and Germany now at 234 basis points (-1 basis point). The BTP yields 4,22% (-2 basis points).
Europe, however, is not following Wall Street's August decline, driven by fears of the start of tapering, the Fed's planned reduction in purchases. In Europe, other stock markets are hovering around parity. London is down 0,03%, Paris is up 0,23%, Frankfurt is down 0,19%, and Madrid is up 0,47%, confirming Southern Europe's strong performance. The European Union's trade surplus has risen to €17,3 billion (from €14,9 billion). Meanwhile, car sales in Germany have risen 4,08% in the last month.
Monte Paschi continues its march, up 2,4%. Siena's mayor, Bruno Valentini, reiterated (contradicting Alessandro Profumo's caution) that the bank is attracting significant interest from Italian and foreign investors. UBI is up 1,49%, Mediobanca is up 1,8%, and Banca Popolare di Milano is up 1,62%.
Brunello Cucinelli, however, stalled at -2,21%. The entire luxury sector was weak: Ferragamo -2,27%, Tod's -2,6%, Luxottica -0,6%. Generali rose by 0,52% and Fondiaria Sai by 0,69%.
StM Down 2,47%. Last night, the Sox index, which includes the chip industry's biggest names, closed down 2,2%. Also weighing on StM is HSBC's rating cut, downgrading it from neutral to underweight.
Other industrial stocks are also down: Fiat -0,54%, Finmeccanica -1,67%, Pirelli -1,4%.
Mediaset rose 0,59%, also thanks to the upgrade of Bank of America Merrill Lynch to “neutral” from “underperform.”
