Investors are cautious amidst global geopolitical tensions, the default of Argentina and the expectation of data on the US labor market, after the 4% leap in GDP in the second quarter in recent days. The market looks at unemployment data to understand the state of health of the economy and understand the future moves of the Fed which is thinking about the possibility of raising interest rates sooner than expected.
The data on household confidence as measured by the University of Michigan and the manufacturing ISM is also awaited. The Ftse Mib dropped 0,97% in the wake of the disappointing data on Italian industry. The Markit PMI index relating to the Italian manufacturing segment fell to 51,9 in July from 52,6 in June. The May data on employment in large companies, gross of employees on layoffs, which recorded a decrease of 0,1% compared to April, does not help either. Net of Cig employees, there was a decrease of 0,2%. The Btp Bund spread rises to 158 basis points. In the morning, the manufacturing PMI markit index for the euro area was released for July, which stood stable at 51,8 in July. Paris -1,32%, Frankfurt -1,99%, London -1,45%.
In Europe, the lists are penalized by the sales of securities in cyclical sectors, such as auto, construction and raw materials, penalizing the European stock lists. The Tokyo Stock Exchange also closed down at -0,6%, in the wake of the performance of Wall Street where volatility is returning to increase. In China, manufacturing activity growth accelerated in July. The PMI index calculated by the HSBC bank stood at 51,7, the highest level for 18 months. In the previous month the index had been equal to 50,7. The data for July confirm the strong recovery of the manufacturing sector, after the slowdown that had characterized the first quarter.
In Piazza Affari, at the bottom of the list is Gtech -4,94% after Kepler Cheuvreux's cut to hold from buy. Atlantia -4,59% and Yoox -3,95% were also bad. But it's not the entire sector that is doing badly. Going against the tide, and the best stock of the Fste Mib is Tod's which rises by more than 1%. Ubi Banca +0,89% and Saipem +0,52% were also highlighted. Generali also did well +0,45% the day after the presentation of the data. Autogrill +0,55% after the accounts presented yesterday.
