Italy was the great protagonist today on the markets. Of note is the fact that Giorgio Napolitano's acceptance of the appointment as President of the Republic for a second term was greeted by the Stock Exchange with a leap in the last 20 minutes of trading.
The 10-year Btp/Bund Spread drops by 13 basis points to 282, the lowest since 20 February, but due to the simultaneous strength of the German Bund, the yield on the 10-year Btp falls to 4,09%, the lowest since November 2010. Point an important point of reference is the spread of 350 basis points at the end of March.
The 2-year Btp/Bund Spread drops to 121 for a yield of the 2-year Btp at the new historic low of 1,23%. The 12-month Bot yields 0,828%, the historical low is 0,70-80%. Italy's lead over Spain widens to 45 basis points, around February's pre-election values.
Piazza Affari was no different. The Italian Stock Exchange +1,66% was by far the best in the Old Continent, only slightly slowing down due to the negative macro data arriving from the USA. The market is now rooting for Giorgio Napolitano's peremptory invitation to be accepted on the "short term" for the constitution of the new government.
SHANGHAI -2,1%, HOLDS WALL STREET
The Shanghai Stock Exchange -2,1% fell sharply this morning, dragged down by new signs of a slowdown in industry: the PMI index, which measures the purchasing intentions of businesses, falls to 50,5, one step away from the boundary between growth and stagnation. Tokyo is also negative - 0,20%, also due to the rebound of the yen against the dollar.
Two-sided sitting for Wall Street. Start conditioned by negative macro data, recovery in the final favored by the rally of Microsoft +3,6%. Bottom line: Dow Jones +0,14%, S&P 500 +0,47%, Nasdaq +0,86%%. However, the profit warning of Caterpillar, the world's leading bulldozer company, weighed on investors' moods. The revision was dictated by the sharp drop in investment by mining companies. Furthermore, the latest data on the US real estate market are negative. Existing home sales fell 0,6% month on month in March, against expectations of +0,4%.
RECORD BANKS, ANNUNZIATA RESIGNS FROM BPM
The BTP effect drives banks and insurance companies. Unicredit rises by 2,7%, Mediobanca +1,9%. Understanding +1.7%. The Intesa Sanpaolo shareholders' meeting has appointed the new supervisory board which will be made up of 19 members and will see Giovanni Bazoli confirmed as chairman. Gianfranco Carbonato and Mario Bertolissi are the two vice presidents. The Board of Directors is composed of the directors Jean Paul Fitoussi, Rossella Locatelli, Beatrice Ramasco, Giulio Lubatti, Carlo Corradini, Monica Schiraldi, Giuseppe Berta, Franco Dalla Sega, Pietro Garibaldi, Piergiuseppe Dolcini, Jacopo Mazzei, Gianluigi Baccolini, Edoardo Gaffeo, Francesco Bianchi, Rosalba Casiraghi and Marco Mangiagalli.
"I find that my age is a reasonable concern and it is right that it is expressed here," said Giovanni Bazoli. “I myself set myself this issue well in advance and, as the people I confided in are well aware, I was driven to a negative orientation precisely due to considerations and prospects of personal tranquility also due to the difficult period”. “I would not hesitate to fold at the first sign of difficulty in carrying out my mandate. The shareholders can be sure of this commitment of mine”, added Bazoli.
Ubi Banca marks an increase of 4,4% the day after the meeting which elected the new chairman of the Supervisory Board. Banco Popolare +4,4%, Banca Popolare di Milano +2.32% also rose. Filippo Annunziata, chairman of the supervisory board of Banca Popolare di Milano, is leaving the institution. Annunziata, in the prosecutor's register of suspects (false testimony in the context of the Corallo investigation) presented his resignation in the evening, which may be followed by those of other directors. It is a new obstacle in the life of the transformation of the cooperative into a spa, to be approved in the assembly of 23 June. Strong contrasts in the supervisory board: the point of no return was reached on 4 April last, on the occasion of the vote of the supervisory board on the 2012 budget: the votes in favor were only 10 out of 18, against eight against and abstain.
Banca Popolare dell'Emilia Romagna +2%. Good rise for Generali +5,1% after Barclays' promotion to "overweight" from "equal weight". Fondiaria gains 1,1%. The Btp effect is very strong for Mediolanum +4%. The government effect is very strong for Mediaset + 4,8%. The rise in industrial stocks slowed down: Fiat +1,7%, Finmeccanica +1.4%, Fiat Industrial +0,7%, held back by Cterpillar's profit warning. StM +1,1% despite the disappointing results of Philips which lost 4,5% in Amsterdam.
Eni rises by 0,4%. According to the Thomson Reuters Ibes consensus with six analysts, Eni's adjusted net profit (excluding extraordinary items) for the period is expected at 1,5 billion euros, down 39,5% from the 2,48 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2012, while Ebit would stand at 4,318 billion from 6,452 billion in 2012. The drop is due to the deconsolidation of Snam but also to the drop in hydrocarbon production, in a context of falling oil prices, and the continuous deterioration of the Gas and Power segment.
Snam +1,2% reaches the maximum of the last 12 months. Enel is rallying and earning 2,7%. In the utilities segment A2A is running +4,8%. Atlantic +2,7%. Parmalat advances by 0,9%. On Thursday evening, the Court of Rome established that the company controlled by Lactalis must return 75% of the Centrale del Latte di Roma to the Municipality of Rome. Telecom Italia, already adjusted for the detachment of the dividend, rose by 1.6%. The press reports the first indications of the consensus of analysts on the first quarter results which will be approved on May 8th. Mediaset rises by 4,8%.
Rcs loses 3%: a very strong discount compared to current prices is looming for the capital increase. Indesit drops by 3% after Goldman Sachs has included the title in the "conviction sell list", the list of securities to be sold without hesitation.
