European stock exchanges down, Wall Street up. Start of the week at two speeds for the Stock Exchanges. The Ftse Mib closed down by 1,12% at 16.655 points, followed by Frankfurt -0,41%, Paris -0,4% and London unchanged. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones rose by 0,67% and the S&P500 by 0,59%.
On the macroeconomic front, a negative note has arrived. In August, Italian consumer confidence fell to 109,2 (from 111,2) in July. Manufacturing business confidence fell to 101,1 (from 102,9). For both, these are the lowest values since July/February 2015.
The Btp Bund spread widens to 119 basis points and a yield of 1,12%. The Treasury sold all six billion euros of the six-month Treasury at auction with rates falling to -0,236% from -0,185% in the July placement, approaching the record low of -0,262% recorded last May.
In the wake of Janet Yellen's words, the dollar strengthened against the euro and today the pair closed at 1,117285. Oil is weak: Brent drops 1,64% to 49,33 dollars a barrel, Wti drops 1,68% to 46,84 dollars a barrel. The focus is on the Fed's next moves and on the employment figure expected for Friday.
On the macro front in the US, the Dallas Fed manufacturing index in August dropped to -6,2 points, July's OCE "core" inflation rose by 0,1% on a monthly basis and by 1,6% annual. Consumer spending rose by 0,3% in July, in line with estimates. In Piazza Affari, sales hit banks and financial institutions: black shirt for Bper (-2,97%), Azimut (-2,72%) and Ubi (-2,02%). Generali also down -1,97%. Oil stocks weak with oil declines. Saipem -1,92%.
Best title of the Fste Mib, and in contrast with the banking sector, Mps (+1,27%) on press rumors of the weekend according to which, to contain the capital increase of 5 billion, the bank is studying the voluntary conversion into shares of 3 billion subordinated bonds held by institutional investors. Ferrari +0%, Ferragamo +53% also performed well.
Unicredit slips by 0,27%. In closing, the thrust on the rumors of the Financial Times on the sale of Pekao deflated: according to the British newspaper, the Polish Pzu "is confident of being able to reach an agreement for the acquisition of Pekao by the end of October". According to an anonymous source, the CEO Jean Pierre Mustier is pushing for a quick conclusion: it is better to move before the referendum which could complicate the outcome of a capital increase.
FCA -1,7% slips while the hypothesis of the sale of Magneti Marelli seems to be moving away. CEO Sergio Marchionne said: "We have never put the group up for sale, but "in the medium-long term its future will probably be elsewhere".
Worth noting is the performance of Prada +13% at the close in Hong Kong. Despite the drop in revenues and margins in the six months ending in July 2016, the brand expects a turning point for the current year. Italcementi unchanged on the day when the 2 billion euro takeover bid of HeidelbergCement starts.
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