Markets on alert in the wake of tensions in the Middle East. They begin asian bags, with Tokyo and Hong Kong falling. Bad bags from the Old Continent it seems they want to leave rise. Futures on the Eurostoxx 50 are trading at +0,7% at 8am Italian time, in line with those on the Nasdaq (+20%). All eyes on the defense sector. Particularly in Milan to follow Prysmiam and Saipem.
Asia under pressure, China resists
Markets evaluate the impact of the massifs Iran's drone and missile attacks against Israel occurred over the weekend. Tehran launched more than 300 drones and missiles against military targets in Israel on Saturday in an attack that the US president, Joe Biden, he called “unprecedented”. Israel, for its part, successfully defended itself thanks to US intervention which intercepted most of the missiles, President Joe Biden said over the weekend, while the United States made it clear that it wanted to avoid a wider war in the Middle East .
Asia opens the week in red, Monday 15 April, after theIran's attack on Israel with the exception of China. Tokyo changes hands with a decline of 1,06% at 08:20 and moves into negative territory at 39.104,26 points, despite the data on machinery orders core in February on a monthly basis recorded a leap of +7,7%, up compared to the previous -1,7% and against a forecast of +0,8%).
Hong Kong loses 0,55%, Shanghai jumps by 1,3%, Seoul is in the red (-1,03%). Below parity Mumbai, showing a decline of 0,65%; in cash Sydney (+1,49%).
Sul currency front, the euro rises slightly against the dollar to 1,0654, while the yen loses considerable ground (-0,4% to 153,82) falling to its lowest level since 1990. The markets sell the T bond whose yield rises from 4,52% to 4,556%, while futures on the Nasdaq are positive again for 0,4% after Friday's bad session on Wall Street. The price of crude WTI at $85,37 per barrel at 08:30.
China leaves rates unchanged and injects liquidity
La Chinese central bank kept rates steady, suggesting that they could remain unchanged until the end of this month. The 1-year MLF interest rates therefore remain at 2,5%. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) also announced that it had injected 100 billion yuan into the Chinese financial system.
Il German Chancellor Olaf Scholz he's in China for one special mission. Scholz will warn Chinese President Xi Jinping that he must act soon to avoid the duties established byXNUMX-XNUMX business days to balance trade relations, including on electric vehicles, writes Bloomberg. The EU is wary of China's use of massive public support in key sectors such as tech and automotive and has toughened its stance in recent months.
THEactivity on the Chinese stock markets fell to its lowest level in decades, in step with the stock market crisis. In the first quarter of 2024, Chinese companies raised just $6,4 billion across ipo, ABB and convertible shares, the lowest level on record, according to Dealogic. Fundraising in offshore markets (outside mainland China), including Hong Kong amounted to $1,6 billion, the lowest figure since 2003. Mergers and acquisitions accounted for $2,5 billion, the lowest amount since 2005. The Shanghai stock exchange is up more than 1%.
Friday closings
Friday saw a close on parity for most of the markets European Stock Exchanges, Piazza Affari included, while the FTSE 100 stood out in a positive sense. The price lists have lost much of the morning's increase due to the downward trend of wall street, weighed down by some disappointing quarterly results of the banking giants. JPMorgan reported better-than-consensus earnings per share, however, full-year earnings per share guidance disappointed. Citigroup beat analysts' estimates, while Wells Fargo missed net interest income forecasts. Among the main European stock exchanges, Frankfurt closed with -0,14%, London was well bought, which recorded an increase of 0,91%, and Paris was stable with -0,16%.
Samsung beats Apple in sales
According to International Data Corporation, the Apple's global iPhone sales decreased by 9,6% in the first three months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. IDC then wrote that Samsung managed to oust Apple from the podium as the main global smartphone supplier in the first quarter of the year. Meanwhile, global smartphone sales increased 7,8% year-on-year, suggesting a good recovery in the industry, according to preliminary data. Apple has seen a decline in iPhone sales in China due to growing competition from state-backed Huawei in the use of the devices by civil servants.
What to follow today
The major Italian Stock Exchange indices and the main European financial markets should begin the first session of the week with fractional changes. All eyes on the food sector defense. In Milan he expected good performances from Prysmiam and Saipem.
Prysmian could record significant changes at the start of the day. The company, listed on the FTSEMib and active in the sector of cable systems for energy and telecommunications, announced that it has entered into a merger agreement under which it will acquire Encore Wire, a company listed on the NASDAQ manufacturer of a vast range of copper electrical cables and aluminum for energy production and distribution. Prysmian offered 290 dollars per share, a price that values Encore Wire at approximately 3,9 billion euros (Enterprise Value) which represents a multiple of 8,2x EV/2023A EBITDA and 6,3x EV/2023A EBITDA including the estimate of synergies fully operational. The transaction will be financed through a mix of available cash (1,1 billion euros) and new debt (3,4 billion euros).
Saipem, which had closed with a good (+3,92%) on Friday, announced this morning that it had obtained authorization from ExxonMobil Guyana and the partners of the Stabroek block to proceed with the execution of the development project of the Whiptail oil field, located off the coast of Guyana.
Saes Getters – a company listed on the STAR segment and active in scientific and industrial applications that require high vacuum conditions – has announced that it has signed a non-binding expression of interest for the acquisition of the entire capital of HeatWave Labs (an engineering, design and production company , mainly active in the scientific research and diagnostics markets). The company's enterprise value is estimated at approximately $4,25 million.
Unicredit. Andrew Orcel It's Pier Carlo Padoan were confirmed for a new mandate in Unicredit as CEO and president respectively after Friday's meeting which appointed the new board of directors and which approved the group's remuneration policy for 88 with almost 2024% of the capital present.
Telecom Italy. Asati, the association of small shareholders of Telecom Italia, has withdrawn its list of candidates for the renewal of the board, to support the list presented by the outgoing board of directors and the reconfirmation of Pietro Labriola at the helm of the group, we read in a letter seen from Reuters. Tim has reached an agreement with the unions on the application of "defensive solidarity" until 30 June 2025 which provides for a 13,84% reduction in working hours for approximately 23.000 employees of the group and its subsidiaries Noovle, Olivetti, Sparkle and Telecontact. For approximately 8.500 people, employed as field technicians and designers, the reduction in working hours will instead be 5%. By the end of April, the telephone group will launch a public exchange offer - foreseen by KKR's offer for Netco - on a series of bonds that it has issued over the years, with maturity from 2026 onwards and with a total value of 8,5 billion euros.
The negotiation between Leonardo and Fincantieri for the sale of Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquea (WASS) is in an advanced stage but is experiencing slowdowns due to very distant positions on the price and perimeter of the group, on the employees and on the assets to be contributed given that Wass is no longer an autonomous company
Among the main macroeconomic data today there is industrial production in the Eurozone in February, which in January fell by 3,2%, much more than expected at 3,2%. Overseas, however, the statistics on retail sales for March arrive. The previous month, US consumption, which constitutes a good part of US GDP, rose by 0,6% on a monthly basis and by 1,5% on an annual basis.
On the markets, the focus will be above all on defense-related stocks, which moreover recorded a sharp slide last week.
