Piazza Affari still closes at the top in Europe, with the Ftse Mib up by 1,21%, just a whisker from 22.000 points (21.984). The protagonist of the financial day in Milan is Atlantia, +4,2%, thanks to the fact that the hypothesis of a counter takeover bid on the Spanish Abertis seems to have faded.
Fiat picks up, +2,64%, always supported by the prospects of a marriage, despite the official denials of some Chinese suitors. The other main European markets were positive: Paris +0,71%; Frankfurt +0,71%; London +0,67%; Madrid +0,63%
In the morning, the second preliminary reading of the Eurozone's GDP for the second quarter of 2017 contributes to spreading a certain optimism on the continental lists: +0,6% on a quarterly basis; +2,1% on an annual basis. Italy participates in the party, even if in the last rows: +0,4% and +1,5%. In any case, this is a figure beyond expectations, which has not been seen since 2011.
Wall Street opens positive, awaiting the publication, at 20 pm Italian time, of the minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting of July 25-26, when the US central bank left rates unchanged, expressing its intention to raise them a third time by the end of 2017. For Mario Draghi's speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where every year the Fed organizes a meeting of the elite of finance, we have to wait instead for August 25th. Rumors say that the president of the European Central Bank will not announce a change in monetary policy there. In the meantime, the number one of Eurotower today collects the solidarity of the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, regarding the German constitutional court which has decided to appeal to the European court of justice against quantitative easing, because it would violate the prohibition of monetary financing of the States.
Against this backdrop, the euro weakens against the dollar: -0,32%, cross 1,169. Pale gold, +0,12%, 1273,68 dollars an ounce. Oil was positive until mid-afternoon, then slowed down, with the EIA data, in chiaroscuro, on US weekly inventories: Brent -0,1%, 50,75 dollars a barrel. On the secondary side, the 10-year BTP maintains a good intention, in a session with August volumes: yield 2,04%; spread with the German ten-year bond down by 1,24%, 159.20 points.
Returning to the stock market, it is worth spending a few more words on Fiat, which is also growing at the NYSE, partially supported by the news that it will join the BMW group, Intel and Mobileye in developing a technological platform for autonomous driving. Furthermore, the press and some analysts are re-launching the hypothesis that Chinese suitors are making marriages with General Motors or Volkswagen once again topical.
Financials are also on stage in Piazza Affari. In pole position Azimut +3%, Ubi +2,53% and Banca Intesa, +2,16%, the latter thanks to HSBC which takes the judgment from "hold" to "buy" and the target price to 3,2 EUR. Fly Ynap +2,47%. At the bottom of the list Tenaris -0,51%, Cnh -0,31%, Saipem -0,31%; Snam -0,05% and Luxottica -0,02%.
