They advance oppose the European stock exchanges supported by the levels reached by oil but worn down by the news arriving from the Ukrainian front. The focus is on the telephone conversation between Biden and Xi scheduled for 14pm.
Stock exchanges in the middle of the day
Milan, after an uncertain morning, dropped by 0,6%, below 24 thousand. Both Eurostoxx and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange are doing worse, both down by one percentage point. Wall Street futures are also weak one hour after opening.
Goldman Sachs calls for caution because prices "underestimate the risks of Ukraine". Even the risk of a possible default has not been overcome: Moscow has paid, through JP Morgan, the 117 million dollars envisaged in the loan installment, the bank has transferred them to Citi, the agent institution, but for now the creditors have not received the credit. And so, due to difficulties related to sanctions, this morning S&P Global Ratings has cut Russia's credit rating by two notches, to CC, just one step above official default, explaining that the debt is "highly vulnerable to non-payment".
The best and the worst in Piazza Affari
In the meantime, the energy dossier dominates in Piazza Affari. It will start at 14 Eni's Capital Marker Day -1,43% which yesterday announced the accounts at the end of 2021, down in the fourth quarter to cope with the results of Saipem -2,8%.
Meantime Enel's star shines +1,5%: in 2021 the group recorded a group net result of 5,593 billion euros, up 7,6% on 2020, with investments rose by 27,5% to 13 billion. Enel will propose to the shareholders' meeting (convened on May 19) a total dividend for the entire 2021 financial year of 0,38 euros per share, of which 0,19 euros already paid as an interim payment last January. The remuneration of shareholders thus rises by 6,1% compared to 2020, with a total dividend of 3,8 billion euros. Speaking on a conference call with analysts, Francesco Starace explained that the dividend policy is sustainable even in this moment of turbulence and that the company is evaluating the possibility of reducing its exposure to Russia.
Tim is down sharply – 2,6%, undermined in court by the potential bride Open Fiber. The company will face a claim for damages for 2,6 billion euros in the lawsuit relating to the alleged abuse of its dominant position in the broadband market after the summons by Open Fiber. Barclays lowers the target price to 0,23 euro. In the background remains the Kkr file.
In Paris the giant of nuclear energy Edf (-1,10%) is accelerating its exit from the Stock Exchange to re-enter the sphere of public property. The company has indeed announced a capital increase of more than 3,1 billion euros as part of a plan aimed at strengthening the company's financial structure. The French energy company is dealing with a series of problems in the activity of its nuclear reactors and with the ceilings on energy prices imposed by the government which has already announced that it will participate in the operation.
In the rest of the price list to report Inwit (+2,2%), best stock on the list. Reuters reports the interest of several infrastructure funds (including Brookfields and GIP) for Vantage Towers which in recent weeks have sent Vodafone (81% of Vantage) spontaneous offers with valuations of around 15 billion (in line with current valuation).
Atlantia also goes up by half points after the go of the Court of Auditors to the agreement for the sale of Aspi to the cdp.
At the bottom of the Iveco and Stellantis price lists with discounts of more than 3%.
The European Stoxx index of automotive companies is the worst today with a loss of 2%. Sales caused by the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine brought the performance of the Stoxx Automotive into the red by -16% since the beginning of 2022, against -7,80% recorded by the Stoxx Global index. It had finished 2021 with a brilliant +16%, third positive year in a row.
Japanese chip maker Renesas and component maker Murata both suspended some operations on Thursday (March 17) after an earthquake shook the country's northeast.
Among macro variables:
- Brent oil climbed 0,7%. Yesterday's +8% is one of the largest daily changes in the last year and a half.
- Natural gas +1%.
- Gold -0,5% to $1.932.
- Bitcoin at $40.500, little moved.
- Euro dollar down to 1,104.
