A slow start to the financial year in Asia, with most stock markets (Tokyo, Sydney and China's CSI 300) still closed for holidays. Among the open ones, the Indian one stands out, with an increase of 0,8%. Both Seoul's Kospi and Singapore's Straits Times rose by 0,3%.
The spotlights are concentrated on Hong Kong, positive at the start of the session and now down by 0,6%. The index of real estate companies is down almost 3%. China Evergrande Group stock has been suspended from trading pending communications. According to rumors of the newspaper Cailian, the company has received in recent days an order to demolish 39 buildings built in the city of Danzhou, in southern China: the building permit, which appears to have been obtained legally, would have been revoked.
These rumors penalize all Chinese bricks listed in Hong Kong: Sunac loses more than 10%, Shimao -10%.
MUSK SELLS 308 CARS IN THE QUARTER
Wall Street futures rose by half a point on the wave of the positive close at the end of 2020: on Friday, the Nasdaq closed down by 0,6%, the S&P500 by 0,3%.
Tesla broke its delivery record in the fourth quarter of 2021, reaching 308.600 vehicles. Overall sales for the year were 936 thousand, up 87% compared to 2020.
Wednesday, CES begins in Las Vegas, the consumer electronics fair, which has by now become the point of reference for innovation in cars and mobility systems. This year, however, several groups have decided to participate only virtually, due to fears related to Covid-19. There will be no Meta (formerly Facebook), Amazon and Twitter. BMW will present a multi-coloured model: just press a button and the bodywork will take on another colour.
PETER THIEL HIRES KURZ, FORMER AUSTRIAN PREMIER
It should be noted that Peter Thiel, the billionaire father of most of the Silicon Valley initiatives, close to the positions of the US right, has hired the former Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz to oversee "the group's strategies".
Market interest rates moved little in anticipation of the opening of the cash market in the United States in the afternoon. The 1,51-year Treasury Note trades at XNUMX%.
The BTP and the Bund restart from 1,16% and -0,18%.
ONE IN FIVE CARS SOLD IN FRANCE IS ELECTRIC
In Europe, a first sign of the economic situation will arrive tonight when stock exchanges are closed for car registrations in December and throughout 2021. The numbers arriving from France (only 1,6 million cars sold) do not allow for many illusions. But one in five cars is electric.
IVECO OPENS THE YEAR IN MILAN: 49 IPOS IN 2021
At Piazza Affari, the year opens with the debut on the price list of one of the most awaited IPOs, that of Iveco, the result of the demerger from CNH Industrial of the commercial and special vehicles, buses and powertrain activities. Each holder of Cnh shares received one Iveco ordinary every five, thus becoming a shareholder of the new company controlled directly by Exor. Iveco, as anticipated at the Investor Day of 18 November, aims to reach total net revenues from industrial activities in 2026 of between 16,5 and 17,5 billion euros (against 11,8 billion in 2019) with a compound growth rate up to 5% annually. The adjusted net profit target is set at between €0,6 and €0,8 billion.
Iveco's IPO comes at the end of a happy year for the new listings on the Italian market: in 2021 49 companies landed on the market, five in the main list (Philogen, The Italian Sea Group, Intercos and Ariston Holding) and as many as 44 in that reserved for small companies. During the year, the capitalization of listed companies rose, reaching 23 billion euros as at 757 December, a weight equal to 43,1% of GDP.
OIL RECOVERY. TOMORROW THE OPEC SUMMIT
WTI oil starts 2022 with an increase of 0,7%, at 75,5 dollars a barrel. The OPEC+ meeting is on the agenda for tomorrow. Yesterday, Libya warned that crude oil production will drop by 200.000 bpd in the coming weeks as a pipeline is under repair. The main Libyan field, that of Sharara, has been stopped for several days. In January, production should fluctuate around 700.000 barrels per day, the lowest level in the last twelve months.
But the prospect of increases is made difficult by the air traffic situation: in the United States about 6.500 flights were canceled over the weekend: bad weather is involved, which prompted the control authorities to ground the planes, but there are also many employees among pilots and ground staff who are sick due to Covid.
THE OMICRON VARIANT SUPPORTS GOLD
Gold is down 0,3% to $1.825, still on the highs of the last six weeks. Bloomberg justifies the movement with the winter wave of the epidemic: the Omicron variant, although less lethal than the previous ones, is more contagious. The number of people who are ill or in isolation is such as to put structures and institutions in crisis. Goldman Sachs has asked all of its employees to work from home until at least January 18.
THE NUCLEAR SPLITS EUROPE IN TWO
A delicate week also on the energy front, even if natural gas prices are returning from their highs. But the emergency remains, partly for seasonal reasons, much for political uncertainties: a glimmer of light on the future of nuclear power under French pressure reopened in Brussels over the weekend, but opposition from Germany, Austria and Luxembourg against the hypothesis of considering nuclear energy as a weapon to favor the decarbonisation of the environment.
Also yesterday, Germany decided to shut down six nuclear reactors that are running smoothly.
MACRO DATA: PMI INDEXES AND INFLATION COMING SOON
“The first part, the easier one, of the recovery is behind us. Now comes the difficult part." Daan Struyven of Goldman Sachs does not sweeten the pill on the eve of the restart of the markets after a golden year. Very few, indeed almost nobody, believes that financial markets can repeat the golden performance of 2021, with generalized double-digit growth in indices and volumes.
Against this backdrop, the markets await the first data of the year on the state of health of the major economies with particular curiosity. Today, the results of the European Union and Italy's December manufacturing PMI will be released. Tomorrow is the turn of the Chinese and American manufacturing ISM. Wednesday is the turn of the PMI services index for December of Italy and the EU, Thursday of the Chinese one.
Italian inflation for December will also be announced on Wednesday, while Thursday will be the turn of the German figure. Finally, EU inflation will be released on Friday.
FED MINUTES, AMERICA DIVIDED ON ASSAULT ON CAPITOL HILL
Overseas, the most awaited macro data concerns the publication of the minutes of the last meeting of the Fed, in which the change of course in the assessment of inflation emerged.
Thursday 6 marks the first anniversary ofassault on Capitol Hill, the seat of the United States Congressby supporters of Donald Trump. The assault ended with 4 dead and 52 arrests. The members of the parliamentary commission of inquiry which has investigated the affair in recent months are starting to plan the dates for the release of the results of the various inquiries.
But America appears increasingly divided. Also on the 6th Trump will return to the limelight with a press conference. Meanwhile, polls say that for 60% of Americans Trump has a "large" or "good" part of the blame for the attack on the Capitol, but he has only "some" or "none" responsibility for 72% of Republicans and for the 83% of its voters.
