Business Square it is the only Stock Exchange among the main European markets that travels in negative -0,68% at the mid-session halfway point. The Milanese list is weighed down by blue chips Telecom which was suspended after a 5% decline following the announcement of Telefonica of having made an offer to buy the Brazilian Gvt but also discounting the negative data of the PMI (services) index released in the morning. The index of purchasing managers of Italian companies in July it dropped to 52,8 from 53,9 in June, disappointing analysts' forecasts. The June figure on the consumption front elaborated by was also disappointing Confcommercio which indicates an increase of 0,4% compared to the same month of the previous year and of 0,1% compared to May. The Btp-bund spread is unchanged at 156 basis points.
European Stock Exchanges are up: Cac +0,77%, Ftse 100 +0,39%, Dax +0,59%. Frankfurt is also supported by good quarterly data German giants BMW and Deutsche Post as well as from the data on economic activity in the services sector in Germany which accelerated in July with the PMI index to 56,7 from 54,6 in the previous month, exceeding expectations by 56,6. also the data on the composite PMI for the Eurozone which rose to 53,8 thanks to the services sector which offset the opaque performance of manufacturing. Again in the Eurozone, the data on retail sales was also published, which recorded an increase of 0,4% in June compared to the previous month of May, while on a trend basis the increase was 2,4%.
Tokyo, on the other hand, closed down after a swinging session and in the wake of the negative figure for the Chinese PMI in July, which fell to 50 from the 53,1 recorded in June to the lowest value ever recorded since November 2005. On the macroeconomic front, the markets are now looking to to US afternoon data including July's ISM non-manufacturing index and June industrial orders.
In Milan, the main banks show a decrease with the exception of Unicredit +0,87% which awaits the bills: Ubi -1,27%, Intesa -0,61%, Banco Popolare -1,59%, Mps -1,59 %. However, the focus is on Telefonica's offer on the Brazilian subsidiary of Vivendi, Gvt, for 6,7 billion euros. The operation also involves Telecom Italia since Telefonica has proposed to Vivendi, should it be interested in a stable stake, to acquire 8,1% of the share capital of the Italian company. For Telecom Italia, in fact, a possible operation between Tim Brasil and Gvt, which analysts consider too onerous, seems to fail at this point. Just this afternoon the Telecom Board of Directors is on the agenda for the half-yearly accounts.
At the bottom of the Ftse Mib also Fiat -4,46% frozen downwards in the wake of analysts' estimates. Autogrill -3,44%, Buzzi Unicem -2,56%, Azimut -2,33%. Highlights on the Ftse Mib Campari +3% after the accounts, Tod's +1,97%, Finmeccanica +1,81% driven by the news on cost cutting launched by the new Mauro Moretti board of directors which according to Intermonte analysts will have an impact positive on 2015 estimates. Moretti immediately launched a vast expenditure containment program which, as emerges from an article published today by Repubblica, provides for the cancellation of all the subsidiaries in the Defense and Aerospace sectors which will be transformed into simple divisions, the reduction of members on the boards of subsidiaries (maximum three), cutting of all consultancies and external collaborations, unification of the staff functions of the subsidiaries in a single central structure.
