Beginning of the week in the sign of prudence for the European Stock Exchanges. A statement by Angela Merkel on a visit to a school (“the euro is too weak”) triggered the rebound of the single currency in the afternoon, which jumped to 1,1224 against the dollar, the highest since mid-November.
Piazza Affari formally closes a session down which, in reality, was positive and was affected by the coupon detachment, which weighed about 1,5% on the main index. For example, the decrease of Intesa -4,14%, translates into +2,5% if we take into account the generous coupon above 6%.
At the end of the session, the Ftse Mib index closed at -1,15% at 21.318,58. Little moved Paris -0,03% and Frankfurt 0,19%. Madrid -0,37% pays the prospect of possible early elections. London +0,34%.
The US stocks were more euphoric in the first stages: the Dow Jones rose by 0,3%, the S&P 500 by 0,2%, the Nasdaq +0,5%. Defense stocks take off after the 350 billion dollar deals signed during Donald Trump's mission to Saudi Arabia: Lockheed Martin +2,4%, Raytheon +3,4%-. The agreement also mocked Fincantieri which closed at 0,91 euros with an increase of 1,8%. According to Banca Akros, the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Lockeed Martin could bring 1,2 billion dollars to the Italian group. Ford also did well -1,46% after the changing of the guard at the top.
In anticipation of the OPEC summit, the price of oil is growing: the July future on WTI rises by 1,07% to 51,21 dollars a barrel, while the same delivery on Brent gains 0,91% to 54,1 dollars. In Piazza Affari, Saipem stands out +1.95% on the day of the unification (one new stock for every ten already owned). Eni +0,33%.
In the rest of the price list, Yoox Net-A-Porter +3,09 stood out. Among the banks Ubi -1,7%%, Banco Bpm +1,3% and Ubi +1,7%. Generali gains 2%, Unipol +2,9%, UnipolSai +1,5%. A day of strong increases for asset management companies in the light of the good performance of inflows in these first few months of the year: Banca Generali +1,9%, Banca Mediolanum +2,1%, Anima +3,4%.
As regards the utility sector, a good performance for Enel +1,1%. FCA, on the other hand, is still weak -1,6% to 9,56 euros after last week's roller coaster. The Italian-American company yesterday recalled 8.890 cars in Russia to reinstall the software it expects to allay US regulators' fears over excessive emissions.
