The Greek storm did damage. But not too many. Markets took note of the Greek snap elections scheduled for January 25 and priced in the prediction of a possible, if not probable success for the Syriza party. But the dominant opinion is that, unlike what happened in 2011/12, the Greek crisis will not cause a domino effect destined to affect the entire euro area.
TOKYO +8% IN 2014. S&P LEADING NUMBER 53
And so, after the initial fear, the markets corrected their course. In Tokyo this morning the Nikkei index closed its last meeting of 1 with a fall of more than 2014 percent: the Japanese Stock Exchange took its leave with a gain of 8% over the 12 months. Hong Kong also down -0.93%.
Wall Street moved little, even if the S&P index +0,09% took the opportunity to score the 53rd all-time record at 2090 points. The Nasdaq also rose +0,36%, the Dow Jones slightly decreased -0,09%. Crude oil has conditioned the US stock exchange yet again: Brent fell to 57,88 dollars a barrel, Wti to 53.
MILAN AND MADRID FALL AND RISE
The Italian premier Matteo Renzi said he was sure, at the end of the morning, that there would be no contagion of the Greek syndrome. The facts proved him right.
Ghe stock indexes recorded a strong recovery from the lows reached at the end of the morning immediately after the vote in the Greek Parliament, when the Athens Stock Exchange fell by 10% and that of Milan managed to lose 3%. The Athens Stock Exchange closed down 3,9%.
The stock exchanges of Milan (FtseMib -1,1%) and Madrid (Ibex -0,8%) end up with a limited decline. Piazza Affari thus sets off to close 2014 with a meager gain, just above parity.
The other European Stock Exchanges closed positively: London +0,3%, Paris +0,5%, Frankfurt unchanged.
THE BTP RESISTS BELOW 2%. TODAY THE LAST AUCTION OF A RECORD YEAR
A day of high tension also for government bonds: the 9,26-year Greek bond sank back to a yield of 110% (+2013 basis points), which it had not seen since September XNUMX. In the meantime, the yield on the XNUMX-year German Bund, the safe haven par excellence, has dropped to a new low: 0,564%.
The 2,10-year BTP did like the Stock Exchange: initially it fell, with the yield rising to 1,98%, then the excess gradually returned and ended the day with a yield of 143% with a spread of 13 (+12 basis points). Spread widening by XNUMX basis points also for the Spanish Bono.
Today is the medium-long term placement of CcTeu, 5 and 10-year BTPs for a maximum of 7,5 billion euro is on the agenda. They are expected to yield slightly higher levels than the last auction and demand is expected to be good but not exceptional. The 5-year BTP is expected to be just over 1% while the 10-year BTP should settle at just over 2%.
ITALIAN BANKS UNDER FIRE, TODAY HUNTING FOR A REBOUND
It was the banks that bore the brunt of speculation. The sector closes in sharp decline throughout Europe (Stoxx of the sector -1,3%), with a particular note for Piazza Affari hit by a current of sales on the Bigs. Unicredit lost 2,5%, Understanding -2,3% Banco Popolare -1,8%.
ENI SELLS SHARE IN SOUTH STREAM
Eni closes down 1,4 on pressure from more news. In the morning, the sales hit the Italian oil company after the news that the clashes between the opposing factions in Libya caused a very serious fire in the Es Sider oil terminal, the main one in the North African country, where 800 barrels of crude went up in smoke. It seems that a missile started the fire.
In the press conference at the end of the year, Renzi reiterated that the sale of any shares in the six-legged dog will have to take into account market conditions, which are far from favourable, for now: S&P also weighs in, putting the rating under observation in view of a possible relegation from the current A/A-1.
Finally, in the evening, the company announced the sale to Gazprom of the 20% stake in South Stream Transport, created for the construction of the gas pipeline between Europe and Russia, the project for which, however, was blocked by Putin. Eni, the same said to Claudio Descalzi "will recover the capital invested to date in the project, calculated in line with the existing agreements".
Closes the day down too Saipem -0,33% despite the rumors that give for certain the renunciation of the launch of a capital increase. Mediobanca Securities confirmed the neutral recommendation (target price at 14,5 euro).
In the rest of the price list substantial losses for Enel -1,8% and Finmeccanica -1,4%. Telecom Italy closed the day with a drop of 0,17%.
LUXOTTICA, FCA, GTECH AT THE TOP
The list of stocks in positive territory is not particularly crowded. They advance Fiat Chrysler +0,6% and Prysmian +0,53%: Mediobanca Securities confirmed the outperform recommendation on the cable company with a target price of 16,6 euro.
Up too Luxottica +1%, favored by the sprint in consumption in the USA.Yoox + 1,87%. Positive Gtech +0,38% who signed a six-term contract to supply an integrated system for Mexican lotteries.
RICH CHRISTMAS FOR TISCALI, SEAT BOUNCES
Fireworks for Tiscali +14,98%: the group announced on December 24 that it had signed a debt restructuring agreement. Also good Seat Pg + 7,4%.
