Well begun, as we know, is half done. Judging by his first impact with the world of price lists, Enrico Letta can be said to be satisfied: the financial markets have rewarded his program, a very propitious circumstance in view of the trip to Berlin where the premier will have dinner with Angela Merkel tonight.
Yesterday, Piazza Affari led the rise of the European Stock Exchanges which learned with satisfaction that two months after the elections Italy managed to acquire a political government based on the alliance between the two main parties.
Investor appreciation is demonstrated even more by the improvement in BTPs: the 3,90-year yield fell to 2010%, its lowest since October 269, the spread narrowed to 15 with a drop of 48 basis points. A good premise for the ECB summit which, in XNUMX hours, will meet in Bratislava to decide on the rate cut.
To complete the party, while Letta presented his program in Montecitorio, the excellent setting of the US market, on the eve of the monthly meeting of the Fed: in March, home sales in the US rose by 1,5% on the previous month, beating the forecasts of economists who expected growth of 1%.
SUPERSTAR TECHNOLOGY FROM ASIA TO WALL STREET
The Nikkei index in Tokyo remained unchanged, Shanghai still closed for holidays. Samsung Electronics +2008% is responsible for the increases in Asian price lists, the highest since 2,3, ahead of the chip manufacturers of Taiwan and Apple's suppliers, Hon Hai.
"Historic" news for the world of the Chinese web: Alibaba, the e-commerce giant, has purchased 568% of Sina Weibo, the most important tweeter, for 18 million dollars.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones rose by 0,72%, S&P +0,72%, Nasdaq +0,85%. Also in New York technology in evidence. Strong increases for Apple +2,6%, Microsoft +2,2%, Ibm +1,6%, Google +2%, Intel +1%. The FtseMib index of the Milan Stock Exchange rose by 2,2% to 16.929, a level it had not seen since last February 4th. The London Stock Exchange gained 0,4%, Paris +1,5%, Frankfurt +0,7%, Madrid also did well +1,8%
AND FIAT GOES TOWARDS THE NYSE
Mediaset, the "political" stock par excellence, celebrated the new government with a rise of +4,6%. Big party also for the banks: Unicredit rose by 2,5%, Intesa +2,6%. The decline in the spread favors the most exposed banks: MontePaschi leads the race +6,8% on the day of the meeting. Close behind is Banco Popolare +3,2%, Pop.Emilia +3,3%. Mediobanca +1,8%.
In contrast Banca Pop.Milano -3,8% after the shareholders' meeting on Saturday rejected the proposal of the management board to introduce remote voting for the next meeting. The next assembly in June is the one that will have to decide the transformation of the bank into a joint stock company.
Btp effect also for Generali increased by 3,1%, Fondiaria-Sai +0,4%, Unipol -1,2%. In Europe, the auto sector was the best performer with a 1,5% increase in the Stoxx index. Pirelli gained 4,3%. Fiat lost 1,1% after the release of first quarter data, which fell short of analysts' expectations. CEO Marchionne confirmed the targets for 2013. Fiat has revised the expectations on the European car (EU27 + EFTA) for the current year to a "decrease of 3-5%" from "substantially stable".
The company that could arise from the merger between Fiat and Chrysler will probably have the main listing on Wall Street and a secondary listing in Milan. Sergio Marchionne, in the conference call with analysts, defined this possibility as "the most efficient". Speaking of the hypothesis of the purchase by Fiat of 41,5% of Chrysler controlled by Veba, Marchionne said that "talks are continuing" and that he is "confident" about the possibility of an agreement, without giving further elements.
Finmeccanica +2,1%, StM +0,9%, Prysmian +3%. Great day for utilities, the most indebted sector. Good rise for Enel +3,3%, leap for A2A +6,1%, positive for all utilities: Terna +2,1%. Eni rose by 1,6%, the subsidiary Saipem +1,1%. Strong rise of Telecom Italia +3,7% following the rumors about a possible spin-off of the network into a company that would be listed on the Stock Exchange.
Luxottica rose by 2,7%. The CEO Andrea Guerra said today in the meeting that the growth prospects for the current year are good. Rcs fell by 2,5%.
