Piazza Affari closes at their highest since 2008, (+0,74%, 24.688 basis points) and marks an increase in line with the other European lists: Frankfurt +1,01%; Paris +0,65%; Madrid +0,57%; London +0,69%.
Wall Street is also off to a good start, after the records set yesterday by the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, even if at the moment the American stock market is slowing down and the Dow Jones straddles parity. T-Mobile US climbs 10,9% to top the S&P 500 after that a federal judge cleared the acquisition of Sprint, which jumped by 73,8%. Overall sentiment is conservatively positive, supported by cautious optimism about containing the coronavirus outbreak and the ever-watchful attention of central banks. More than Christine Lagarde's words to the European Parliament, today it is those of Jerome Powell that inspire confidence.
The chairman of the Federal Reserve considers the current monetary policy adequate and is optimistic about the "resilient" US economy (11 years of expansion is a historic record), but warns: "we are carefully monitoring the spread of the coronavirus which could lead to unrest in China and which could affect the rest of the economy global”, including the United States, even if it is still too early to understand. From the Chinese front, according to what the Xinuha agency writes, Beijing has started the experimentation on mice of a first possible vaccine against the dreaded 2019-nCov.
Meanwhile, the dollar remains strong in the foreign exchange market. The exchange rate with the euro moved to 1,0914. Gold takes a break after four days of gains and trades at 1568,25 dollars an ounce, -0,78%. Oil rebounds: Brent 54,09 dollars a barrel, +1,54%. The recovery of oil benefits the oil shares of Piazza Affari: Saipem +2,76%; Eni +1,14%; Tenaris +0,83%.
Quarterly reports also guide investors' choices: Ubi +4,21% is the best share of the Ftse Mib after the accounts presented yesterday and files the sixth session in progress; Finecobank, -5,61%, disappoints despite growing profits and dividends. Amplifon up +2,82%; Prysmian +2,81%; Stm +2,58%; Juventus +2,39%, while a whirlwind of indiscretions on the Juventus bench starts again: will Guardiola replace Sarri?
Moncler loses 2,72%, even if 2019 numbers are better than expected. What weighs heavily is the reduction of costs and the postponement of investments in China to protect margins. In the wake of Ferragamo -2,39%. Profit taking on Azimut -1,52%. Off the main list, the recovery rally continues +12,22%. Banca Mediolanum did well +0,6%, which closed 2019 with a record profit of 565,4 million euros.
On government bonds the spread between Italian and German ten-year bonds remains unchanged: 139 basis points. Boom however for the Btp expiring March 1, 2036 launched today by the ministry of the economy through a syndicate of banks. Orders exceeded 48 billion euros, with the yield set at five basis points higher than the BTP in March 2035, down from the initial nine points, which were then reduced to seven.
From the ECB front, the president Lagarde warns: "The longer our expansionary measures remain in place, the greater the risk that the side effects will become more pronounced."
