The US-China tensions, the economic damage from Covid-19 and profit taking, after the recovery in April, bend the European stock exchanges, which close in deep red on the start day of Italy's Phase 2. Lreopening of a part of the activities it doesn't heat up though Milanese price list which drops 3,7%, stopping at 17.035 points, in line with Frankfurt -3,61%; Paris -4,24% Madrid -3,4%. Limit the damage London, -0,24%%. Negative the start of Wall Street, which at the moment, however, proceeds contrasted with the Nasdaq an increase of 0,6%.
First of all, the heavy data from manufacturing weighs on the mood of the European markets: in April, the Italian PMI collapsed to an all-time low of 31,1 points (below 50 indicates a contraction) from 40,3 in March ; expectations were even worse, at 30. The pandemic meltdown also affects the other eurozone countries: 34,5 points in Germany, 31,5 in France. Also for the boot Confindustria has also estimated a halving of production industrial in March and April.
To this trend are now added the concerns for the ongoing clash between Washington and Beijing, on the origin of the coronavirus and the lack of clarity of the Chinese. US Secretary Mike Pompe said over the weekend that he had evidence that China voluntarily hid the true extent of the epidemic in the country earlier this year. Ben Wallace, defense secretary in Great Britain, echoes this from London today, stating on BBC radio: "the Chinese have many questions to answer due to the speed with which they have informed the world of the crisis". The celestial empire rejects the accusations, but these tensions between the two main economic powers of the world scare investors. The situation also weighs on the Petroleum, very volatile. Texan crude for June 2020 delivery rises by 0,6% and moves to 19,9 dollars a barrel. The Brent future, June 2020, rises by 0,45% and trades at 26,56 dollars a barrel.
Risk aversion rewardsgold, which appreciates at 1714,70 dollars an ounce. The same happens to the dollar, as a safe-haven currency, moving forward against a panel of currencies. L'euro it lost 0,6% and the exchange rate was around 1,09.
Instead, the Italian bond holds, also thanks to the purchases of the ECB. The spread with the German 230-year bond it falls to 1,82 basis points (-1,74%), with the yield of the BTP stable at XNUMX%.
An overall positive session at the start of yet another field week, which will close on Friday with the judgment on the sovereign debt rating of the two rating agencies Moody's and Dbrs which will pronounce after the status quo, announced by S&P Global, and the downgrade decided by Fitch. However, there is also the sentence of the German Constitutional Court, expected tomorrow, on the participation of the Bundesbank in the bond purchases in the context of the QE by the ECB. A rejection could prove to be a fatal blow to the fate of the eurozone.
Returning to Piazza Affari the most bizarre title today is Ferrari, +1,46%. The prancing horse crosses the finish line in the lead, in a very short row of only two positive blue chips, after losing up to 6% following the publication of the first quarter accounts and the cut of the estimates for 2020.
The other title in green is Diasorin, +0,06%, practically flat.
The sales mainly hit the stocks most exposed to the US and oil: Cnh -7,56%; Eni -5,77%; Tenaris -5,54%. Bad Exor -6,47% and fca -5,64%. Atlantia it dropped 6,4%.
Among the banks the worst is Unicredit, -5,62%. Business & Finance, the economic weekly insert of Republic, reports a Mediobanca study on the sector which predicts that the impact of the current health emergency could make its effects felt, on the economic accounts of the institutions, also for the whole of 2021.
Off the main list instead Fincantieri, +11,47%, celebrates the maxi order from the US Navy. This is the award to the American subsidiary, Marinette Marine, of a contract worth almost 800 million dollars for the construction of the lead unit of the "FFG(X)" program for the new US Navy missile-launching frigates. The option is envisaged for 9 additional vessels which will bring the contract value to 5,5 billion dollars. Imi puts the target price under review, Akros raises it to 0,65 euro.
