Interlocutory session for the European lists, which close with little movement, while Wall Street proceeds in opposition awaiting Jerome Powell's press conference in a few hours, at the end of the two days of the Federal Reserve. Frankfurt climbs 0,28%; flat Paris; while London loses 0,57%. Piazza Affari takes a very small step forward, +0,08%, but the spread goes back to 100 points (+4,29%) and the Italian ten-year rate grows to +0,7%, in a global context of renewed tensions on government bonds, especially on American ones.
Indeed, the Treasury yield exceeds 1,67% and flies to the top for 13 months. The rise in bond rates and the rotation on equities in favor of cyclical sectors and to the detriment of technology are therefore the forerunner to the conclusion of the Fed meeting, the key financial event of the week from which no news on rates is expected, but economic forecasts and future moves. Attention is paid in particular to the "dot plot", the dot diagram that offers a graphical representation of where each member of the central bank imagines rates will be in the coming years. While the Fed recently reiterated that it will remain accommodative until the job market fully recovers, some policy makers may be suggesting a rate hike in 2023, Reuters writes. Some investors and economists are also betting on even more rate hikes. Morgan Stanley in particular expects monetary policy tightening next year.
In the meantime, the euro-dollar exchange rate is flat, in the 1,189 area, while commodity futures are down. The gold contract, April 2021, loses 0,35 and trades at 1725 dollars an ounce; Brent, May 2021, loses 1,3% and trades at 67,50 dollars a barrel.
The geopolitical tensions between the USA and Russia also suggested caution in the session. During an interview with ABC, US President Joe Biden harshly attacked Russian President Vladimir Putin, considered "a killer". The White House tenant said Putin "will pay a price" for his attempt to intervene in the 2020 presidential election in the United States. "Putin is our president, attacks against him are attacks on Russia," replied Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the State Duma, closely.
Meanwhile, in Europe, the war on vaccines and the AstraZeneca catchphrase continues. The European Union is threatening to take more stringent measures to limit the exports of anticovid serums, raising the tone of the dispute with Great Britain and the USA over their restrictive management of deliveries to the bloc. “If this situation does not change, we will be forced to reflect on how to link exports to vaccine-producing countries with the level of openness of the countries themselves,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during a press conference. The president also reiterated that BionTech/Pfizer and Moderna are "very reliable" pharmaceutical companies, AstraZeneca is not. The reason is in the non-delivery of the agreed quotas and not in the health reliability of the vaccine itself. On this point, the European drug agency should definitively clarify tomorrow.
Finally, it should be noted that to help the travel sector get back on track, the EU is thinking of a paper or digital Covid pass for June for European citizens who provide proof of having undergone vaccination, or of having tested negative to have recovered from Covid-19 and to have developed antibodies.
In this context, it is no wonder that investors today have remained on the sidelines. In any case, the banks proceeded to animate the session in Piazza Affari, which remain attractive in view of a possible restart of risk in the sector.
At the top of the list are Banco Bpm +3,82% and Bper +3,12%, with press rumors about new talks between the CEO Giuseppe Castagna and Carlo Cimbri, CEO of Unipol, the main shareholder of the Modena bank. Unicredit +1,78% and Mediobanca +1,06% are well bought, possible candidates for a marriage. Monte Paschi is uncertain, -0,34%, which fears losing its possible partner, Unicredit.
Well understood +0,92%. Creval weakens, -0,49%, after the go-ahead from the ECB and Bank of Italy for the Credit Agricole takeover bid and with Algebris which has undertaken to sell its 5,380% stake in any case even if the operation fails.
Asset management appreciates with Banca Mediolanum +2,13% and Azimut +0,59%, who benefit like the banks from the expectation of coupon distribution starting from September. The chairman of the Governing Council of European Supervision, Andrea Enria, said that "in the absence of unexpected and particularly negative developments in the coming months, the recommendation regarding the limit on dividend distributions will be repealed and banks will be able to return to their own dividend policies". .
The automotive sector is up: Pirelli +2,02%; Stellantis +1,19%. The latter despite the data on registrations in Europe in February decreasing by 22,4% due to the effects of the pandemic. Bestinver notes that "the containment measures and uncertainties continue to weigh on the demand for cars in Europe and this figure is not a surprise". On the other hand, the automotive sector at the European level closed in great dust, driven by the leap of Volkswagen (+16,5%) and BMW (+6,4%) on expectations for 2021.
Profit-taking penalizes Diasorin -2,67%; Amplifon -1,84%; Moncler -1,28%; Buzzi -1,16%; Inwit -1,14%. Weak Enel -0,92%. Generali loses 0,83%. According to Il Sole 24 Ore, the Lion is considering an operation in Russia worth about 2 billion euros.
