Land Bank of England rate decisions contributed to a positive session for European stock markets, also favored by the drop in volatility. the markets, always under tension due to the weakness of the banking sector, are now awaiting the last important macro appointment of the week: the updated data on the US labor market which will be announced tomorrow after today's first indications on subsidies.
In Milan, the Ftse Mib index closed with an increase of 0,66% over 16.236 points. Paris +0,57%, Frankfurt +0,57%, Madrid +1,48% is also on the positive side thanks to the rally of Banco Santander and Banco Bilbao, both over 3%.
London deserves a separate mention on the day of the discount rate cut, the first since 2009, to a new record low of 0,25% in an attempt to counter the post-Brexit recession. The City's price list (+1,6%), down in the morning, is the best in the Old Continent thanks to the devaluation of the pound, which fell below 1,13 against the dollar, and the decision to reopen for a further 60 billion pounds its Quantitative Easing program.
Wall Street is on standby on the eve of the release of key jobs data: Dow Jones -0,1%, S&P500 -0,1%, Nasdaq +0,1%.
New jobless claims climbed 3 to 269.000 against expectations for a drop to 265.000; however, the figure remains below 300.000 for the 74th week. The other macroeconomic data are in line with expectations. Factory orders recorded a 1,5% drop in June. Durable goods orders fell 4% in June.
In terms of accounts, Twenty – FirstCenturyFox -3%. The Murdoch media company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, but rising costs for sports programming and movie marketing weighed on profits.
A Milan Unicredit closed the session up 2,5% at 1,847 euros. After the second quarter results announced yesterday, brokers adjust their target prices, all downwards, but confirm the recommendations. In detail, Natixis, Kepler Cheuvreux and Oddo confirm the Buy judgment. The new target prices range from 4,9 euros for Natixis to 3 euros for Kepler Cheuvreux. Oddo lowered it to 4,5 euros from 5,6 euros. Ubs confirmed the Neutral judgment and reduced the target to 2,05 euros from 2,1 euros.
The rise of Ubi +0,93% slows down in the afternoon, after a rise in the morning (+3%). New sales instead on Mps -2,19%.
UnipolSai is down by 0,2% to €1,422 after the accounts. The insurance company announced this morning that it closed the second quarter with a net result of 133 million euros, slightly down from the 138 million euros of a year ago, but better than expected.
Tenaris (+2,9% despite the quarterly decline) and FinecoBank (+2,6% after the jump in funding in July) are advancing.
Among the industrialists the rise of Stm stands out +3,5% driven by increases in the tech sector. Fiat Chrysler slows down -0,9% after the leap following rumors about Samsung's interest in the subsidiary Magneti Marelli. Mediobanca Securities estimates the value of the deal at 2,1-2,4 billion euro. “A demonstration of what we have always said – reads a note. FCA is the best car manufacturer to have in the portfolio as the consensus is biased downwards and many activities are not watched with sufficient attention by the market".
Outside the main index, Safilo gained 15,5% after announcing better-than-expected results last night.
