AT&T has decided to celebrate the launch of the tax reform, definitively approved yesterday, by announcing an extraordinary bonus of one thousand dollars for each of its 200 employees and a one billion dollar increase in investments in the United States. "The law - said the CEO Randall Stephenson - will boost growth and allow the creation of new high-income jobs".
The enthusiasm of the telecommunications giant, one of the sectors most favored by the new fiscal rules, has not infected the rest of the market. Wall Street indexes remained flat after President Trump's first real parliamentary victory: Dow Jones -0,11%, S&P 500 -0,08%, Nasdaq -0,04%. The feeling prevails that US stock prices have already discounted the benefits of more favorable tax rates: in the last month the S&P rose by 4,5% while European stock exchanges remained practically unchanged.
WALL STREET FLAT, JAPAN DOESN'T TOUCH RATES
In reverse. the effects are making themselves felt on the interest rate and currency front. The yield on the 2,51-year T-bond went as high as 1,19% yesterday, the highest since March, while the euro, traded just below 3,5 this morning, gained positions against the dollar. The reform, according to the markets, will force Washington to create more bonds to finance the deficit. Meanwhile, the Fed, faced with the acceleration of the economy (yesterday the accounts of the logistics giant Fedex (+XNUMX%) confirmed the positive trend) could accelerate the pace of the increase.
Flat calm instead in the East. Tokyo scores -0,1% on the day of the BoJ's last meeting of the year. The Bank of Japan fully confirmed the monetary policy indications, with no changes and no indications on any corrections in the medium term. Short-term deposit rates remain negative, QE will still be 80.000 billion yen per month, the XNUMX-year yield target is zero. The time has not yet come to decree the end of the era of easy money.
BITCOIN: PYONGYANG SCORE THEFT OF THE YEAR
The South Korean stock market falls (Kospi -1%), the Mumbai BSE index unchanged. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange climbs (Hang Seng index +0,5%), while the city's dollar depreciates against the United States dollar: the cross is at its lowest level in the last two years. The CSI 300 index of Shanghai and Shenzhen stocks is up by 0,8%.
More surprises on the Bitcoin front. Korean platform Youbit was forced to shut down after suffering a new cryptocurrency theft. The electronic robbery, according to police suspicions, is to be attributed to North Korea, not new to such attacks. According to an analysis by Seoul (South Korea trades around 20% of the total cryptocurrencies) one stock exchange out of three suffers a robbery a year, the first cause of the failure of the platforms (one out of two closes its doors in the first year of life).
OIL ON THE RISE. BARCLAYS PROMOTES TENARIS
Oil's rally continues also following a stronger-than-expected drop in US crude inventories. This morning Brent is trading at 64,4 dollars a barrel on Asian markets.
At Piazza Affari Eni -0,5% on the day in which the company was indicted in the trial on the alleged bribes paid in Nigeria. The six-legged dog has started production at the Zohr field in Egypt, which has a potential of over 850 billion cubic meters of gas in place. Sale Tenaris (+1,2%) which benefited from the start of coverage by Barclays with an overweight recommendation and a target price of 16,5 euros. Analysts think the group's business has "the potential to improve further."
THE STRENGTH OF THE EURO IS HOLDING BACK THE EXCHANGES
High-voltage finale for the session of European stock markets disturbed in the afternoon by the risk of a postponement of the US tax reform evoked by the words of adviser Gary Cohn which weighed on both the dollar and the bond market.
Milan too has paid its tribute to the general uncertainty, sucked into the sudden downward acceleration. In Piazza Affari, the Ftse Mib index dropped 0,74% to 22.109,65 points. The euro/dollar exchange rate returned to the values of three weeks ago up to 1,19 (1,1881, closing from 1,1840. This affected Frankfurt the most (-1,11%), the market most sensitive to pressure euro strong on exports, Paris down (-0,56%).
Madrid -0,26% on the eve of vote in Catalonia. Over five and a half million Catalan citizens will today be called upon to elect the 135 deputies of the next regional parliament and thus give an indication of what the future of the independence process that has upset the country's political landscape in recent months should be like. The polls show that the pro-independence and unionist fronts are essentially paired.
Outside the Eurozone, London leaves behind 0,25%.
SPREAD, SPAIN BEATS ITALY DESPITE THE REFERENDUM
Closing in negative for the BTPs, even if slightly above the lows, confirming the correction phase that is affecting the market in the last part of 2017. The European bond is in line with the movement of yields on Treasuries, pushed towards the from the perspective of President Trump's tax reform.
The Btp/Bund spread touched 156bps, marking a new high since October 30th; the yield on the Italian ten-year benchmark in turn rose to 1,97%, also in this case to new highs since the end of October: from the lows of 8 December (1,64%), in less than two weeks the rate on the ten-year BTP it moved upwards by more than 30 basis points.
The German 0,43-year rate went up to 4%, the highest for over a month. Yesterday too, the Italian paper fared worse than the Spanish one: the Italy-Spain spread widened by 48 points at the end of the session, to 1,80. And the Portuguese 10-year bond, in the XNUMX% area at the close, traded more than XNUMX points below the equal expiry Italian.
THE FIRST AUCTIONS OF 27 WILL START ON 2018 DECEMBER
The Treasury communicated the details of the auctions of Ctz (2,5 billion offered) and BOTs (6,6 billion) on Wednesday 27, the first with settlement in 2018. Today will be the turn of communications on the medium-long offer of 28 , which according to Intesa Sanpaolo's forecasts will also see the launch of the new ten-year benchmark.
BANKS UNDER PRESSURE, BUT CREVAL FLIES
The weakness of the banks, widespread throughout the old continent but amplified on the Milanese stock market, set the tone for the day. The basket of Italian banks lost 1,2%.
Unicredit leaves 2,9% on the ground and Banco Bpm sells 1,6% despite the fact that the Board of Directors resolved on Monday to sell another 1,8 billion euros of non-performing loans. Among the worst stocks Banca Mediolanum (-2,3%).
In clear contrast with a leap of 8,6% Credito Valtellinese following the go-ahead of the shareholders for the 700 million capital increase, a fundamental pillar of the industrial plan focused on a sharp reduction in NPLs.
EXPENSIVE MONEY WEIGHTS ON ENEL, FOOTBALL REWARDS MEDIASET
Among the rising utilities, Italgas has signed a loan agreement with the European Investment Bank for 360 million euro.
In the red, however, Enel (-0,75%) which through its subsidiary Enel Green Power Argentina was awarded the rights to build the 100 MW Pampa wind farm ($130 million).
Among the best Mediaset with a gain of 1,3%: the market is already pricing in the transfer of rights to Tim Vision (460 million). Furthermore, it seems that the Biscione has won the rights to the World Cup in Russia. Il Fatto Quotidiano reports the figure: 78 million euros.
Telecom Italy -1,5%. Iliad will start marketing its service in the spring.
CAMPARI OFFERS A BISQUIT, YNAP BOUNCES
Prysmian +0,33% to 27,65 euros. Mediobanca Securities has reduced the target price from 30,2 to 30 euros, which is still higher than the current stock market prices. Confirmed recommendation to outperform.
Campari (-0,54%) announced the purchase of Bisquit Dubouchè et Cie by the South African group Distell for 52,5 million euros. The closing of the transaction is expected in the first quarter of 2018, while the completion of the sale of Lemonsoda to Royal Unibrew A/S is expected on January 2nd.
In the luxury sector, YNap rebounded (+0,55%), sharply down on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley cut its estimates on the EBITDA margin. Yesterday, however, Kepler Cheuvreux confirmed the hold recommendation on the stock and the target price at 31 euros. Salvatore Ferragamo also did well (+0,79%). Luxottica closed down at 50,95 euros, leaving 0,97% on the ground.
FALCK, KR ENERGY, ITALMOBILIARE: A TRIO OF RIALZI
Trevi advances by 6,5%, pending the definition of the entity of the capital increase. The day before, the stock lost about 10%.
A leap of over 11% was achieved by Kr Energy, which announced an investment of around 55 million euros for the reindustrialization of the former Whirlpool site in Teverola, in the province of Caserta.
In the Star Falck Renewables still stands out (+7,4%) which gathers further support after the presentation, in recent days, of a 2017-2021 industrial plan much appreciated by the market.
Italmobiliare +3,3% on the eve of a Board which should take stock of the many investment dossiers under examination.
Astaldi flies (+6%) after the redefinition of the financial parameters as at 31 December, at the basis of the 500 million euro revolving credit facility (RCF) obtained from the lending banks.
Debut down by about one percentage point at Aim for Gel.
