The surprise move by the Swiss central bank, which decided to de-peg the franc from the euro, wrong-footed the markets and caused a sudden devaluation of the euro against the franc. But it has even more convinced investors that quantitative easing is near. In fact, the European stock exchanges gained strength, closing sharply higher: Milan rose by 2,36%, London by 1,73%, Frankfurt by 2,2% and Paris by 2,37%. the Btp-bund spread closed at 131 basis points.
Especially since the director general of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, has once again urged the ECB: further stimuli are needed to fight deflation, is the message coming from Washington. In the Eurozone "lower oil prices are contributing to a further decline in inflation expectations, which increases the risk of deflation", said Lagarde who added: "this confirms the need for further monetary stimulus, with the Bank Central European Union which has indicated that it is ready to lend support if necessary".
On the other hand, the Zurich Stock Exchange collapses, leaving more than 8% on the ground. For the Swiss economy and for exports it is a severe blow. In a press release from the trade association Swissmechanic, which brings together Swiss mechanical engineering companies, the abolition of the threshold of 1,20 Swiss francs for one euro will have "catastrophic repercussions" for mechanical engineering companies.
The euro/Swiss franc exchange rate dropped more than 12% to 0,8942. The euro-dollar was also down -1,61% to 1,1599. On Wall Street, the indices are moving in negative territory: the Dow Jones loses 0,29%, the Nasdaq 0,8%, the S&P500 0,48%. The lists archive the disappointment for the accounts of two financial giants, Citigroup and Bank of America and the collapses of some stocks of large-scale distribution. Radioshak, an electronic product distribution chain, which is about to announce bankruptcy, crashes. Bad also Best Buy on expectations for the first half of 2015.
Several macroeconomic data released today in the US. The Philadelphia Fed index fell significantly in January to 6,3 points from 24,3 in December, well below analysts' expectations. Initial jobless claims also disappoint, rising by 19 to 316 in the week ending January 10. Manufacturing activity in New York State in January was better than analysts' expectations. The New York Federal Reserve's Empire Manufacturing index rose by more than eleven points compared to the previous month to 9,95 points from -1,23 points in December.
WTI oil is still losing ground, losing 1,42% to 47,79 dollars a barrel. And the effects of this rapid fall in prices are starting to show. The giant BP has announced the suppression of around 200 jobs in the North Sea and that around a hundred subcontracting jobs would be affected due to the collapse in oil prices.
The monthly report on the oil market released today by OPEC notes that the current collapse in crude oil prices is causing a slowdown in production by non-OPEC countries, starting with the USA. The Organization thus cut its estimates of US crude production by 100 barrels per day, including, among the reasons for this slowdown, the decline in the number of active rigs in North America, the decrease in drilling permits and the reduction of plans spending by the international energy majors.
In Piazza Affari, Moncler shines by +5,8% in the wake of the weakness of the euro and in anticipation of the men's fashion shows in the coming days. In evidence Atlantia +4,56% which is studying the sale of up to 30% of Aeroporti di Roma. Enel +4,09% after promotion of Citigroup to neutral from sell. Oil stocks such as Tenaris +4% and Eni +3,7% rebound. Yesterday Enel and Eni announced the restructuring of the debt. The exception is Saipem which lost about 1%, the worst stock in the Ftse Mib, followed by Tod's -0,91% and Gtech -0,84%.
The banks were also well bought: Bpm +0,69%, Banco Popolare +2,85%, Ubi +1,66%, Unicredit +1,2%, Intesa +2,93%. Mps +0,61%, awaiting the outcome of today's meeting between the top management and Daniele Nouy, head of supervision of the European Central Bank. Outside the Ftse mib runs Italcementi, which slows down in the final +2,99% to 4,95 euros after a leap of 5%, which benefits with sustained volumes from an Intermonte report with a target price of 6 euros.
