In the wake of Wall Street's negative opening, the European stock exchanges worsened in the afternoon and closed the session in the negative: the Ftse Mib dropped 1,21% below 17 thousand points, Paris -0,83%, London -0,68 % and Frankfurt -0,58%. Here the eyes are on the Linde stock which, according to rumors, has talks underway with the American Praxair in view of a possible merger, an operation that would create a giant in the supply of industrial gases.
In the morning, the European indices had instead benefited from the data on the German Zew. The index that measures sentiment on the prospects of the German economy returned to positive territory, rising to 0,5, albeit with a figure lower than expected. The Tokyo Stock Exchange instead closed down by 1,6% held back by the strong yen.
In Wall Street the indexes continue in negative territory in the aftermath of the triple record. On the macroeconomic front, industrial production in July was better than expected, rising at the fastest pace since November 2014, up 0,7% while analysts had expected an increase of 0,3%. Also on the macroeconomic front, the number of building permits granted last month fell by 0,1% but the number of new construction sites rose by 2,1%. Inflation in July the consumer price index remained unchanged from June. Excluding the volatile energy and food components, the figure rose 0,1%, but less than the 0,2% expected.
The euro-dollar exchange rate was 1,1279, up 0,78%. The Btp Bund spread closes at 114 basis points and a yield of 1,12%. At the opening, the yield moved to 1,06%, close to the all-time low of 1,05% reached last week.
In Piazza Affari, above all, oil stocks closed higher: Tenaris +2,29%, Saipem +0,75%, Eni +0,29%. The sector is supported by the trend of the barrel and by the constant rumors about a possible agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC countries on supply and demand. In recent days both the International Energy Agency (IEA) and OPEC have also substantially confirmed a scenario of rebalancing between demand and supply of crude oil starting from the third quarter, despite the fact that the cartel's production continued to grow last month at record levels. Wti rose to 46,42 dollars a barrel (+1,49%) and Brent to 48,98 dollars a barrel (+1,3%).
Salvatore Ferragamo +0,53% and Telecom Italia +0,44% were also highlighted, supported by the evaluations of some brokers, Credit Suisse and New Street, on the outlook for the group's operating margins.
Sales on the Ftse Mib hit Yoox -4,37%, the worst stock in the basket, and asset management with Azimut losing 3,27%, Banca Mediolanum 2,8%. Exor also down -3,18%, Generali -2,89%.
Recordati -0,04% awaiting developments in the afternoon following the death of the chairman and managing director Giovanni Recordati, announced this morning by the company. The board of directors meeting today resolved in the afternoon to appoint Alberto Recordati as chairman of the board of directors and Andrea Recordati as vice chairman and chief executive officer.
