The winds of the trade war began to blow in Washington shortly after what might be remembered as a blistering high noon. At that time, when the European lists had already closed their doors, Donald Trump announced to the representatives of some steel and aluminum giants (including Us Steel and Arcelor Mittal) that within the next week he will apply duties of 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminum imports from China and other major producers. “This measure – explained the president – is destined to last quite a while”. Trump, addressing the industrialists, concluded as follows: "I ask you only one thing: make these sectors flourish again".
IRONWORKERS FLY, BOEING RETREAT. THE DOLLAR RISES
The news, for now, has caused dismay on the stock markets. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones index lost 1,93%, the S&P 500 -1,63% and the Nasdaq 1,74%. Trump's words gave steel stocks wings (Us Steel +9,5%, Century Aluminum +15%, Alcoa +35) but also threw other industrialists into panic, not at all happy with a rise in materials first and foremost worried about Beijing's reactions: giants like Boeing, Caterpillar or John Deere are losing more than 2%.
The dollar advanced against the euro to 1,2169, its highest in seven weeks. Movements in Treasuries were modest: 2-year trades at 2,2178 (-0,044%) and 10-year trades at 2,8133% (-0,055%).
STOP OIL. SPOTLIGHT ON TENARIS TODAY
Oil loses momentum, at a two-week low under the impetus of the increase in US production and the dollar. Brent closed in New York at 63,52 dollars a barrel (-1.9%), Wti at 60,66 (-1,6%).
At Piazza Affari Eni -0,9%. Tenaris advances (+0,8%): Trump's decision on tariffs could give the stock a big boost today.
USA, BENEFITS FOR THE JOBLESS AT THE LOWEST SINCE 1969
Trump's move has overshadowed the other news of the day, starting with the second hearing of the president of the Fed. Jerome Powell, speaking in the Senate, had softer tones than at the beginning: the increase in wages, has said, it hasn't had an impact on inflation so far. However, the (outgoing) president of the New York Fed, William Dudley, corrected the shot, declaring that Powell will probably be forced to make four increases during the year, given the acceleration in consumption.
Meanwhile, on the macro front, claims for unemployment benefits fell to the lows of November 1969. Given these numbers, it does not seem appropriate to unleash the demons of protectionism. But Trump is not of this opinion. We await the obvious reaction of Emperor Xi Jingping, who cannot let such a challenge go by. Today, Liu He, one of Xi's closest economic collaborators, lands in Washington.
The European lists close in the red, waiting for a hot weekend on the political front. In the foreground was the Italian vote, but also the consultation of the German Social Democrats, which was decisive for the formation of the Merkel government. Both Brexit and the solution to the Catalonia crisis are on the high seas.
In this context, sales prevailed on all markets. In Milan, the Ftse Mib index closed down by 0,7% at 22.448, still better than the rest of the Eurozone. The worst stock exchange was Frankfurt (-1,97%). Followed by Paris (-1,09%), Madrid (-1,03%) and London (-0,78%).
Worth mentioning is the crash in Paris of Carrefour (-5,4%) which closed 2017 with a loss of 500 million: the dividend was cut to 0,46 from 0,70 euros. The PMI indices of the Eurozone decreased to 58,6 points (still in the expansion zone) from the previous 59,6.
It is possible that, in the next meeting of the directorate, the ECB could slightly modify the message to the markets, eliminating the references to the need to maintain an expansive policy. But there will be no further concessions to the hawks, anticipates Reuters citing leading sources.
The Italian bond market is heading into the elections at a fast pace, with another positive session, the fourth in a row. The ten-year Btp yield closes at 1,94%, the spread with the Bund slips to 130,40.
In February the public sector borrowing requirement fell to 6,3 billion (-1,9 billion) from 8,2 billion a year ago.
YES TO THE LUXOTTICA-ESSILOR WEDDING. AND THE TITLE GOES TO THE STARS
Piazza Affari was supported by Luxottica, protagonist of a leap of 5,1% after the announcement of the green light for the merger with the French Essilor by the antitrust authorities of the EU and the United States. The transalpine partner expects to close 2018 with a 4% increase in revenues on a like-for-like basis.
In luxury, Salvatore Ferragamo's progress faded during the session (+1,4% from the initial +2%). Analysts are skeptical about a forthcoming sale of the brand, yesterday demoted by Deutsche Bank to buy hold. Rain of profit-taking on Moncler (-2,58% after the recent increases).
Difficult seat for industrialists. Stm loses ground (-3,85%), on the wave of sales in the European technology sector (-2,3%).
FCA, SALES HOLDING DOWN. SLOW DOWN THE MARELLI OPERATION
Bad day for the automotive industry. Pirelli (-3,3%) and Brembo (-2%) skid. Fiat Chrysler also retreated (-2,75%) which did worse than the European sector index (-2%). The company's note weighed on the share, specifying that the possible separation of Magneti Marelli will be examined during the second quarter, later than market forecasts.
February sales data were released in the evening: the market fell by 1,42%, but FCA's slowdown was much more marked: -10,8%. However, the Alfa (+18,6%) and Jeep (+79,7%) brands are accelerating. Exor also fell (-2,18%).
Banks in no particular order but better than in the rest of Europe. Unicredit (+0,1%) and Banco Bpm (+0,4%) are up. Down Under (-0,4%).
D'Amico's crash (-6,9%) after the results is still worth mentioning.
