I US macroeconomic data are well received by the market: Wall Street opens positive and the main European stock exchanges close above parity despite some uncertainty in the session: Frankfurt +0,71%, Paris +0,91%, with flat London which turns positive +0,03 % (UK July retail sales were higher than expected). Madrid and Milan score the most consistent gains. The Ftse Mib rises by 1,87% driven by the banking sector but also by the race of Mediaset and A2A. The hawks return to attack Mario Draghi. Klaus-Peter Willsch and Frank Schaeffler, members of the Government under respectively Cdu and Fdp, launched a harsh attack on the online Handelsblatt against the governor of the ECB, who allegedly "transformed the ECB into a financier of states and a bad bank”.
The hawks ask that Germany counts more in the ECB. Meanwhile, on 23 August in Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet with French President François Hollande and two days later with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. The chancellor recently rejected the Greek requests for a lengthening of the austerity plan. For former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder (SPD), in an interview with Bild, “the euro can only be successful if financial and economic policies in Europe are coordinated. Only then can there be a sharing of the debt, but this will still take years”. The euro regains ground against the dollar today at 1,2360 (+0,57%), Wti oil rises to 94,97 dollars a barrel (+0,68%). The Btp-bund spread closes in the 426 area after the lows of the morning.
Claims for unemployment benefits in the US they have in fact risen to 366 thousand units but the moving average of the last four weeks, more significant because it is more stable, is at its lowest since the end of March. Furthermore, if in July the construction of new homes marked a drop of 1,1% to 746 thousand units, against expectations for a drop of 0,5%, building permits soared by 6,8% to the highest level of the past four years. But it is still a matter of light and shade data, to which must be added the Philadelphia Fed index at -7,1, worse than expected.
However, hopes on the macro front come from China where, according to state radio and television, the Chinese premier Wen Jiabao said that the slowdown in inflation "leaves growing space for monetary policy operations" confirming that the growth targets for the year will be respected: "We have the conditions and capabilities – he underlined – and we are confident of achieving the economic and development objectives for this year”.
On Wall Street at close of European stock exchanges, after the setback on the Fed index, the Dow Jones is back up by 0,37% and the Nasdaq gains 0,95%.
Among technology stocks, it fell by more than about 6%. Facebook, reaching an all-time low on the day of the expiry of the first lock-up, instead in evidence Cisco which beat analysts' expectations on turnover and profits and raised quarterly dividends by 75%. Wall Mart then sells after the data for the quarter which disappointed on the turnover front.
A Business Square, in the August climate, the cover-ups of institutional banks are underway also in view of possible strong measures by the central banks, and by the ECB in particular, in September. The banks are in tune with Unicredit +4,91%, Bper +4,60% and Intesa sanpaolo +4,59%. Mps +2,28%, Banco +3,71% and Ubi +1,35%. They are positively affected by the rumors circulating in the Spanish media about the arrival of 100 billion euros in aid from the EU to the banks of the Iberian country.
On the other hand, the Libor scandal is raging on international banks: seven large international banks are also being prosecuted in Connecticut and the state of New York and are at risk, among other things, of losing their banking license to operate in the Manhattan financial centre.
But they are the ones who pull the sprint with sustained volumes Mediaset +10,59% to 1,567 euro (there are still rumors about the possible arrival of new investors in the Biscione) and A2A +9,36%. Both stocks continue the positive series of increases underway in recent days. Since 2 August A2A has risen by around 32%.
Pirelli salt by 0,46%, Camfin +3,89%. Prelios -3,58%. At Camfin, a clash is underway between Marco Tronchetti Provera and the Malacalza family over the strengthening of the holding company which, with the Genoese family voting against, has taken the path of a bond loan convertible into Pirelli shares.
Fondiaria Sai it closed in negative territory -1,92% after a 7% jump above the capital increase price of one euro. In ten days, the consortium's placement will start.
Brunello Cucinelli archives a + 6,09% to the new historical highs of 13,42 euros.
