THE BAGS GET ON BERNANKE'S HELICOPTER. RECORD INCREASES ALSO IN ASIA. WAITING FOR EUROPE
The “Ben Bernanke Helicopter” takes the field and the markets restart in a big way. On Wall Street, the S&P500 index rose by 1,4%, to its highest level since May 2008, followed by the Dow Jones +1,2%. The Nasdaq gains 1,1% and returns to its new highs since October 2000.
The trend picked up speed this morning in Asia. The Japanese Nikkei 225 index advanced by 1,54%, followed by Hong Kong +1,37%, while futures on American stock markets signal new possible increases. At this point, everything suggests that the start of the European lists is marked by the Bull which had already gained ground yesterday, after Bernanke's words: in Milan, the FtseMib index rose by 0,8%, London gained 0,8%, Paris +0,7%, Frankfurt +1,2%.
But what did the Fed chairman say so disruptive? In a speech delivered yesterday in Arlington in front of Virginia industrialists, the president of the American central bank, Ben Bernanke, underlined that the US economy is today incapable of triggering a lasting recovery in employment. The Fed, he explained, is trying to understand the apparent contradiction between a fibrillation of the labor market and the weakness of the fundamentals of the US economy. The only solution to the riddle, according to the president, is that the current recovery in employment rests on fragile foundations, while the US economy needs to grow more rapidly if it is to produce jobs. But for this the US locomotive needs help.
These words have been interpreted as a new opening towards the possibility of extraordinary monetary policy interventions, along the lines of two past bond purchase programmes, called Quantitative Easing (QE1 and QE2). In any case, Bernanke cut short the rumors of recent days which, on the contrary, spoke of rate hikes as early as the end of 2012.
The second upward push comes from none other than Germany: Angela Merkel has said she is willing to accept that the 200 billion in funds on which the EFSF rescue fund has already made commitments will add up to the 500 billion euros of its permanent successor, the ' Esm.
The German commitment to a more powerful anti-crisis "firewall" has revived peripheral government bonds and in particular the ten-year BTP, which has seen the yield fall to 5,00% and the spread with the Bund reduced to 305 points with a decrease of 10 bp.
In this positive context, the increases in car stocks (Stoxx of the sector +1,6%) and oil (+1,5%) stand out in Europe. Even in Piazza Affari the oil markets were very positive: Eni rose by 1,6%. Saipem +2,6%, Tenaris +1,4%. Supporting the six-legged dog was the announcement of the gas finds off the coast of Mozambique, a country where ENI now has reserves of 1,333 billion cubic metres, more than in the United Kingdom. Meanwhile Saipem has announced new orders for 300 million.
The auto sector saw Fiat and Fiat Industrial rise by 1,3%, Pirelli +1,2%. In Frankfurt Daimler and BMW gained 2,7% and 1,4% respectively. The Lingotto has announced the imminent take-off of the production of the Fiat Viaggio in China. The car, developed on the Dodge Dart platform with an Italian design, will be built in Guangzhou. Target: 350 pieces. Meanwhile Sergio Marchionne has collected another media success overseas. The CEO of Chrysler was the sole protagonist of the episode of 60 Minutes on CBS, one of the cult programs on US TV.
The other industrial stocks were also positive: Ansaldo +1,9%, Prysmian +1,2%. The exception is Finmeccanica -1,5%: the expectation of the board weighs on the 2011 financial statements, from which a drastic cleaning action is expected. An ups and downs day for Italian banks: at the end of the session, Intesa -1,1%, Ubi -1% and PopMilano -0,4% were down, while the other stocks in the sector were slightly positive. In evidence Banca Mps: the sale of the stake in Biverbanca is in sight.
Among the financials, the rise of Azimut +4,7% stands out. Impregilo rose by 2,3% after the release of the 2011 results: Piazza Affari feels the air of battle between Gavio and Salini. Luxottica +2,9% and Diasorin +2,1% were also positive. Telecom Italia closed up 1,8% despite the subsidiary Telecom Argentina not distributing the dividend. The duel over Fonsai's fate continues amid stamped papers and appeals to the authorities. Yesterday evening Sator and Palladio Finanziaria announced that they had asked Fondiaria Sai for "definitive clarifications" on the independence of the capital increase for the insurance group with respect to the integration project with Unipol and the company's stand-alone industrial plan. All with a letter to the chairman of the Fonsai board of directors and to the chairman of the board of statutory auditors, sent for information to Isvap and Consob. Isvap itself, meanwhile, has urged Premafin to have the board of directors "quickly" convene the meeting for the Fonsai increase on 30 March.
