The yes to the ESM, albeit conditional, by the German Constitutional Court bodes well for the markets and pushes the euro to a four-month high at 1,2894 (after exceeding the 1,29 threshold). Milan closes the rise of 1,19% led by the banking sector which benefits from the drop in the spread to 341 points and a yield of 5,02%, Paris by 0,18%, Frankfurt by 0,49% and Madrid +0,78% (with the spread closing at around 400 points after falling below that threshold). The exception is London, which loses 0,19%.
The drop in rates is evident also and above all on the shorter one-year maturities: the Treasury placed 12-month bonds with rates dropping to 1,692% from 2,767%.
On Wall Street at the close of Europe, the Dow Jones marks +0,25% and the Nasdaq +0,14%. Facebook shares rallied (+5,3%) after founder Mark Zuckerberg spoke to reporters last night for the first time since the May IPO. Zuckerberg admitted he was "obviously disappointed" with the stock's performance and said he was betting on mobile phones.
US wholesale inventories rose 0,7% in July. Sales fell by 0,1%. The Department of Commerce communicates it
The markets are now looking forward to other key events in the coming days. Look at the elections in Holland where polls indicate the advantage of pro-European parties (first exit pools from 21 pm) and the Fed meeting (which begins this evening) which could launch new quantitative easing while on the other side of the ocean the Chinese premier has also opened up to new stimulus measures to achieve growth targets. Gold stabilizes at $1.733 an ounce.
The inaugural meeting of the ESM will be held in Luxembourg on 8 October, announced Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker. The markets are still awaiting Spain's decision on its request for aid (Rajoy first wants to understand the evolution of interest rates for the country) and the outcome of the tug of war between the Troika and Athens. adoption by the European Union of the legislative proposal establishing the single supervisory mechanism for banks in the Eurozone (which gives the ECB supervisory powers over the approximately 6000 credit institutions in the Eurozone).
In Piazza Affari, as expected, the banking sector is positive: Banco Popolare +3,86% despite Exane cutting its rating to neutral, Bmps +2,22%. In an interview with WSJ, the CEO of Siena, Fabrizio Viola stated that "if we fail to revitalize the bank and obtain a level of refinancing necessary to repay the debt to the state in a reasonable time, we will lose full control of the 'institution", referring to the 3,4 billion euro of "Monti Bonds" subscribed by the Treasury.
Intesa rises by +0,52%, Unicredit +2,47%. Piazza Cordusio, leader of the consortium of creditors, has asked for the bankruptcy of the Magnoni family's Sopaf.
However, Finmeccanica +4,98% and Stm +4,59% stand out over the Ftse Mib in the wake of the upward revision of the guidance of the American competitor Texas Instruments. Enel rises by 2,91%. Yesterday evening the board approved a new delegation to issue bonds up to 5 billion euro.
Fiat + 1,16%: the group will end 2012 with better results than 2011, although the Italian market has returned to the levels of 40 years ago, reassured John Elkan Vola Eurotech (+10,84%) after a mega order worth 60 million dollars. At the bottom of the Ftse Mib Lottomatica -2,42%, awaiting the signature of the President of the Republic on the health decree which introduces the ban on games advertising in newspapers and cinemas, the ban on minors entering betting halls and recognizes the gambling addiction as a disease.
Luxury is still at the bottom after Burberry's profit warning in recent days and fears about sales in China: Ferragamo loses 2,09%.
