There was no Greek storm, the one on Wall Street, semi-paralyzed by a violent snowstorm, yes. Syriza's affirmation in Athens has not yet caused the feared chain reaction on European lists and currencies, with positive effects on all markets, with the exception of Wall Street, awaited for important appointments: today it begins the first Fed meeting of the year; over the next four days, the accounts of approximately 30% of the companies in the S&P 500, including Apple, will be disclosed.
Tokyo advances +1,4%, toned up by the rise of the dollar against the yen, traded at 118,22. Positive session also for Hong Kong and Shanghai. The American stocks are more cautious: Dow Jones +0,03%, S&P 500 by 0,2% and Nasdaq by 0,29%.
STRONG DOLLAR HIT MICROSOFT PROFITS
Microsoft's revenues are slowing down, penalized by the sales trend of operating systems but, above all, by the super-dollar which has hit profits from Europe and Asia. Revenue for the quarter slipped from $6,56 billion to $5,86 billion. After the Stock Exchange, the stock lost about 3%.
Ephemeral recovery of crude oil after the interview with Reuters by OPEC secretary Abdullah al-Badri: a block on investments caused by the plunge in quotations, he declared, could lead to sharp increases in the future. The strengthening of the dollar on the foreign exchange market then took care of restarting the pressure on prices. WTI light crude lost 44 cents to 45,15 dollars a barrel.
On the other hand, there was a strong rebound for the euro: after reaching a 12-year low of 1,1098, the single currency returned to over 1,12 against the dollar.
MILAN RECORD: EIGHT CONSECUTIVE RISES
Athens trembles, Europe does not. After an initial slowdown, the European Stock Exchanges started to rise on the wave of positive signals arriving from the Ifo, the German confidence index, setting aside the fears for the future of Greece. Frankfurt rose by 1,4%, Paris by 0,74%, Madrid by 1,08% and London by 0,29%. In Piazza Affari, the Ftse Mib index (+1,1%) closed up for the eighth consecutive session.
No risk of contagion on the peripheral bond market, which continued to be favored by the ECB's quantitative easing. The spread between BTPs and Bunds narrowed to 114 basis points and the domestic ten-year yield closed close to historic lows at 1,50%, that of the Bonos at 1,37% (102 basis points the spread) and that of the Portuguese 2,17-year bond at 182% (XNUMX basis points the difference with the German equivalent).
End-of-month Treasury auctions begin today with the offer of Ctz and Btpei.
S&P GIVES A STOP TO SYRIZA: ATHENS -3,5%
Athens dropped 3,20% after Standard & Poor's said it could cut its sovereign rating before the date set for the next Greek credit rating ruling (March 13) if the situation turns negative. Under pressure Pyraeus Bank (-17,6%).
Syriza, the party that won a clear victory in the elections, has already formed a governing coalition with the right-wing "Independent Greeks" group, which is also opposed to the international bailout plan. The new Athens executive starts with a majority of 162 deputies out of 300 seats in the Athens Parliament: 159 from Syriza and 13 from Independent Greece.
BANKS, POPULAR STILL IN FERMENT
Still in the center of attention are the banks, in particular the Popolari. The offensive by the top management of the companies affected by the Renzi reform could lead to the correction of the decree law by setting a limit of 5% for the right to vote. Separately, the Minister of Economy, Pier Carlo Padoan, said he was evaluating the introduction of tools similar to the bad bank to free banks from the burden of non-performing loans, without violating European rules on state aid. The popular banks are also recovering, despite some fiery interviews with bankers who threatened sword and fire against the reform of the sector over the weekend.
Meanwhile Equita has revised upwards the targets of the securities of the sector incorporating the expectations of a consolidation of the sector. Pop.Milano is making progress (+2,1%), on the wave of a possible interest from Bnp Paribas and Banco Popolare (+1,2%). Little moved Ubi Banca +0,1%. Banca Popolare Emilia -0,9%. Among the insurance companies, Generali -0,3%, UnipolSai +2%, falls.
ENEL EXPLOITS QE: A BILLION BOND IN SIGHT
Great leap by Enel which gained 2,5%. After Terna's exploits on the debt market, the electricity company is ready to exploit the exceptional conditions of the debt market: yesterday evening the group's board of directors approved the issue of bonds of up to 1 billion euro to be used for any exchange offers with debt securities already outstanding. The objective is to optimize the equity and financial structure of the group.
Positive day for oil companies: Eni rose by 0,9%, Tenaris +1,4%, Saipem +2,8%.
FCA DOESN'T STOP ANYMORE. WDF IN BREATH THANKS TO KKR
Dollar effect but not only. The march of Fiat Chrysler continues, rising by 3,7%, on the eve of tomorrow's board meeting. The company now generates two-thirds of its turnover in the US currency area. StM (+3,7%) and Finmeccanica (+1,1%) also grew. Among the companies exposed to the US market, World Duty Free scores +2,5%: the private equity fund Kkr is reportedly working on a possible entry into the company's capital. Close behind is Autogrill +3,5%.
PUBLISHING WAKES UP. AND RAI WAY STARTS AGAIN
In the rest of the price list, the performance of Astaldi +3,6% should be noted, returning to the highs of last November after the president anticipated that the 2014 debt will be better than expected. Rai Way also did well (+3,3%): Banca Imi started coverage with a buy opinion and a target price of 3,88 euros. Mediaset +1,8%. Down Telecom Italia -0,6%.
Great day for editorials, among the best stocks on Piazza Affari: Mondadori +5,43% on a par with L'Espresso, Rcs +3,83. Cairo rises by 3,83%. Best of all, Class Editori does +7,55%.
