At what point is 2.000? In Asia, gold neared the top tonight, trading at $1.980 an ounce before slowing to $1.947. For now, the Stock Exchanges are looking favorably on the yellow metal's flame and on the equally lively one of silver, at the highest for seven years. The advance of gold, made possible by low rates and abundant liquidity, goes well with the expectation of an ultra-soft attitude from the Fed, meeting today and tomorrow in Washington. The consequence is the drop in the dollar, which fell to its lowest level since 2015 against the Swiss franc and traded at 1,1735 against the euro, which rose to 1,1785 tonight. Even this does not displease Wall Street, engaged today in the examination of the quarterly (189 in the week): 40% of the profits of US corporations come from abroad. And the producers of raw materials breathe a sigh of relief. Hence a positive picture before the start of the session.
SAMSUNG IN FLIGHT WAITING FOR THE NEW GALAXY
This morning in Asia the Shanghai Composite (+0,4%), the Hang Seng of Hong Kong (+0,4%) and above all the Kospi of Seoul (+1%) rose. In the Korean price list Samsung Electronics shines with a rise of 4%: the manufacturer of mobile phones and PCs will present the new series of Galaxy products next week, on August 5th.
Tokyo's Nikkei decreased slightly, held back by the strengthening of the yen.
Futures anticipate a start on Wall Street parity. Yesterday the Nasdaq (+1,63%) practically wiped out the weekend's losses. The Dow Jones (+0,43%) and the S&P 500 (+0,74%) were positive.
MODERN +9%: THE VACCINE IS CLOSER
Fly Modern (+9%). The biotech company has announced that the first tests of the phase 19 anti-Covid-3 vaccine have given positive results. The director of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci said he was confident in the possibility of having it available between October and November.
The weak dollar has not affected oil prices: Brent is stuck at 43,46 dollars a barrel, confirming the weakness of the global economy, which is being weighed down by the conflict between the superpowers.
REPUBLICANS CUT BENEFITS
Yesterday evening in the United States Senate, the Republic party presented a new 1.000 billion euro stimulus plan for the economy, the starting point for negotiations with the Democrats, who, in the House, approved their own 3.500 billion euro plan . Following indications from the White House, the measure cuts unemployment benefits by about two-thirds, from the current $600 a week to $200. But nothing changes with regard to the assistance allowance effective this spring: a family composed of two parents and two children, with annual income under $75.000, will continue to receive $3.400 each month: 2.400 for adults and 500 for the minors.
BUNDESBANK CONFIRMS: GERMANY IS RECOVERING
The strong euro on the seventh consecutive day of rise to 1,177 against the dollar (highest since September 2018) acted as a ballast on the stock lists of the Old Continent. The Stock Exchanges thus started the week with the handbrake on, unable to keep up with Wall Street. But on the macro front there was no shortage of positive notes: the German economy, according to the Bundesbank, is recovering and could continue on this path. “In the second half of the year, the economic recovery could continue,” writes the German central bank. “The recent stimulus package will also contribute to this trend.” Confirmation came from a survey conducted by an economic research institute. In July, the Ifo index improved in all its components. That linked to expectations for the second half of 2020 rises to 97 from 91,4, better than the 93,4 of the consensus. The Ifo related to the business climate improves to 90,5, (consensus to 89,3).
MILAN REMAINS ABOVE 20 THOUSAND POINTS
Piazza Affari loses 0,28% but remains clinging to the 20 points (20.019). Frankfurt is flat despite the push from Sap (+2,8%): the IT giant has announced that it will sell part of its business in the cloud services segment for companies during the IPO phase.
LVMH'S EARNINGS FALL
Fractional decrease in Paris (-0,34%), awaiting the results of Lvmh and Michelin. The accounts of the luxury giant led by Bernard Arnault are worse than expected: operating profit of 1,67 billion euros (-68%) against a forecast of 2,7 billion.
MINES FLY, UNDERGROUND TOURISM
London -0,3%. Stocks of gold producers fly: Polymetal International and Centamin are at the highest, AngloGold Ashanti records in Johannesburg-
A completely different picture for tourism. At City Tui it drops by 11%, worst stock in the Eurostoxx index. Madrid suffers (-1,68%), bent by the increase in Covid cases which have led countries such as Great Britain to quarantine for those arriving from the Iberian peninsula. Ryanair nosedives in London (-3,85%), following the results of the first quarter of the fiscal year 2020-2021 (as of June 20) with a net loss of 185 million euros due to the impact of the pandemic.
BTP, YIELD BELOW 1% BEFORE THE AUCTIONS
The Btp closed a quiet session with a modest rise, in a market with thin volumes awaiting the round of auctions at the end of the month.
The spread stands at 148 basis points after an opening at 146. A large part of the purchases linked to the diplomatic crisis between the US and China were concentrated on the Bund.
The Italian ten-year benchmark rate closed at 0,99% from 1,012%.
INTESA TAKEOVER OFFER EXTENDED TO THURSDAY. UBI DOWN 8,82%
The public purchase and exchange offer of Intesa Sanpaolo (-0,7%) on Ubi (-8,82%) goes into extra time. Consob has ordered a two-day extension of the takeover bid, the conclusion of which will therefore be postponed to Thursday 30. In the resolution, the Commission points the finger at some misleading information that Ubi allegedly provided to investors and, in particular, on the table relating to the value of the Ubi share published by the group on its website.
Acceptances of the takeover bid reached 43,48%, thanks to the contribution of over 10,82% of Ubi's share capital, the highest figure since the launch of the offer.
MPS AND BPER ALSO WHEN BRAKING
The other banks weigh on the Milanese list: Unicredit loses 1,3%; Monte Paschi does much worse (-4,7%). The title began to fall last Friday on rumors of a capital increase of 700 million in order to give the green light to the plan to transfer part of the assets to Amco. Bper was also bad, down by around 5%.
ATLANTIA +4,4%: CDP IN THE CAPITAL WITH THE IPO
Leap of Atlantia (+4,4%) after it emerged that the entry of Cdp in Autostrade should take place at the time of listing on Piazza Affari, in order to guarantee more transparency and adherence to market criteria. BlackRock and the Qatari sovereign wealth fund Qia have expressed interest in investing in Autostrade per l'Italia together with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (Cdp). The preliminary agreement between Atlantia and the government will be ratified by 3 August, shortly before the inauguration of the new bridge in Genoa. According to Banca Imi, "the new procedure is good news for Atlantia even if it does not resolve one of the key aspects of the deal such as the new tariff system, decisive for fixing the value of Aspi".
VODAFONE ACCOUNTS HOLDING DOWN TIM
A marked decrease for Tim (-5,2%) in a European telecommunications sector which is penalized in any case and down by 1,5%. To weigh the data on the quarter of Vodafone. Banca Imi notes that in Italy the revenues from services of the British telecommunications giant fell by 6,5% in the quarter ended 30 June, of these those from mobile services by 9,9% due to the effects of the lockdown. “With reference to Tim, we expect a similar performance in revenues from mobile services, due to persistent competition and the decline in roaming”.
DIASORIN BOUNCES, THE RESULTS REWARD ITALGAS
Rebound for Diasorin (+4,5%) after the decline in the previous sessions following the investigation launched by the Pavia prosecutor's office into serological tests. On Friday, the diagnostic company announced the suspension of clinical trial activities with public bodies in Italy. Brokers, however, see no quantitative impact on Diasorin's income statement, considering that Italy accounts for just over 13% of the group's turnover.
Italgas picked up well (+2,5%) after results substantially in line with expectations and slightly better in terms of net profit and Ebitda.
Moncler holds (+2,3%) despite the six-month accounts in the red: -52,3 million in turnover to 93,2 million euros; the duvet company lost 31,6 million in the six months against a profit of 70 million 12 months ago.
JUVENTUS "CELEBRATES" THE SCUDETTO IN RED: -5%
Classic "sell on news" effect on Juventus, which loses more than 5% after winning the ninth consecutive Scudetto
Piaggio +1,91%. The group has suspended its dividend despite recording 9,1 million euros of profit in the first six months of the year against 34,6 million a year ago thanks also to a 16% cut in operating expenses.
Sogefi was also in positive territory (+1,02%), which closed the first half with a loss of 28,8 million euros compared to a profit of 6,9 million in the first six months of 2019. Autogrill thud (-6,57 .4,52% to 6 euro) after Banca Akros reduced the recommendation on the stock from buy to reduce, target down from 4,50 to XNUMX euro.
