Thanks to a little afternoon snap Piazza Affari closes the session on the upside by 0,21%, to 19,516 points, after the losses of the first part of the day. The other European lists have not moved much. Frankfurt's Dax is the best, +0,61%; warm Paris +0,09%; Madrid -0,08%; London +0,07%. Caution also dominates Wall Street, down slightly, although the Nasdasi is still moving above the 11 points reached again yesterday. The tech sector travels in no particular order: Facebook is making progress, while Apple and Microsoft are making losses.
On the other hand, the fever of US-China relations is rising, aggravated by the new move by US President Donald Trump who, last night, decided to ban US transactions with the Chinese groups that own the WeChat and TikTok apps. Against Beijing has threatened legal action and warned Washington that it will have to "suffer the consequences" of its actions, because Chinese companies would have complied with American standards. Lights and shadows also cast the expected numbers on employment.
The Labor Department saw an increase in nonfarm payrolls of 1,76 million in July, higher than expected but lower than June's record of 4,8 million. I sign that Covid-19 has done no new damage, but that the recovery is not exactly around the corner. In any case, the figure favors the strengthening of the dollar. The euro loses 0,7% and orbits around 1,178. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also intervened on the currency market in an attempt to defend the Turkish lira, after the recent slides against the euro and the dollar.
"I am convinced that it will stabilize - he said during a press conference in Istanbul - These phenomena are temporary and things change over time". “Turkey is solid – added Erdogan – and that no one tries to mislead our people. We will continue on our path and we will strengthen ourselves”. At the moment though the change with the greenback is flat, around the lows reached yesterday (7,23). Gold engages the reverse gear, but from the record levels reached and therefore the October 2020 contract moves around 2033 dollars an ounce.
Oil travels in the red, Brent -1,35%; $44,48 a barrel. Concern remains high on the epidemic front, due to the spread of the coronavirus in the world which has now far exceeded the 19 million infected and 700 thousand dead. There is also an increase in cases in Europe, while in Italy the RT (the rate of contagiousness) has risen above 1 in many regions. Today there was a leap of new positives: 552, of which 183 in Veneto alone. The risk of a second wave is felt, also in light of the enormous damage caused by the first.
On the Stock Exchange the pandemic cost 42 billion of capitalization to the blue chips listed on the main Milan stock exchange. One reveals it Mediobanca study on the impact of Covid 19 on the performance of the main economic sectors and large listed companies. The loss is the result of a tsunami that cost 86 billion in the first three months (-22,9%), partially recovered in the second quarter thanks to a recovery of 44 billion (+15,1%). With these clouds overhead , Piazza Affari focuses on the results of large companies in this first part of the year.
Today the Unipol galaxy presented its accounts things went better than expected. Unipol (+2,54%) and Unipolsai (+2,08%) closed the first six months respectively with a profit up by 74% to 617 million and by 48% to 560 million. Yesterday with the markets closed Banco Bpm also communicated the interim report, -1,85%, closed with a net profit of 105,2 million, down by 82,5% compared to the same period last year. In the second quarter alone, the institute recorded a net loss of 46,4 million compared to the positive result of 447,5 million recorded in the same period last year.
The shares retreat more than 3%, despite the CEO, Giuseppe Castagna, having opened the prospect of extraordinary operations. Among the banks, Bper loses share, -1,9%, after recent gains. Mps collapses, -6,49%, with the shocking loss announced yesterday. The sector appears weak, but the spread improves further: 143 basis points, -2,04%, and the Italian 0,92-year rate is limited to 2,94%. Going back to the stock market: Nexi +2,72%, Diasorin +1,82%, Finecobank +3,47% are up. Bad Pirelli -1,71% and Eni -XNUMX%.
Out of the main basket Rome sinks, -25,05%, which could leave Piazza Affari following the probable launch of the mandatory takeover bid on 13,4% of the football club's capital following the operation announced by Texan billionaire Dan Friedkin, who will take over the majority of the Capitoline club for an amount of 591 million euros. The elimination from the Europa League last night after the defeat against Sevilla also affected the courses.
