Margaret Keenan, a former Northern Irish saleswoman living in Coventry, aged 91 next week, and none other than William Shakespeare, aged 81, the bard's namesake. These are the names of the pioneers, the first to have had the honor of receiving the Pfizer vaccine, the first effective response to the tribulations of a horrible year. Such eagerly awaited news that has obscured the many clouds on the horizon: the tug of war on the budget in the US Congress, the possible (indeed, probable) shipwreck of the Brexit negotiations, the tear on the Recovery Fund and, far more important, the dramatic data of the contagion. But advances in vaccines, combined with near-zero cost-of-money therapy, work in the markets. All too well, judging by the long string of records.
SOFTBANK (+7%) GOES BACK
This morning the MSCI World index hits new all-time highs, as does the Asia Pacific basket (646,10). Wall Street futures (+0,11% the Nasdaq) signal the arrival of new records.
Tokyo's Nikkei rose 1,2%, to a 29-and-a-half-year high. Boosted by stimulus measures just approved by Prime Minister Suga, Japan's machinery orders rebounded by 17% in October, the strongest increase since 2005.
The Softbank conglomerate, having absorbed the losses for the summer speculation on stock exchanges, is back in business. The colossus, number one on the Japanese Stock Exchange, owner of a myriad of assets all over the planet, gains 7% as a result of rumors about the will of the first shareholder, Masayoshi Son, to increase the stake, now at 27%.
Other stocks also rose: Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 0,9%, Seoul's Kospi 1,4% on the back of record trade balances, Sydney's S&P ASX 200 0,7, 0,7% and the Mumbai BSE Sensex by XNUMX%.
The CSI 300 of the Shanghai and Shenzen lists decreased slightly. Surprisingly, last month saw the first year-on-year drop in China's inflation since 2009. But November's surprising -0,5% should be partly explained by the fall in the price of live pigs caused by the disappearance of the plague African swine that had plagued herds in previous years.
TRY TO START TOURISM BUT IT'S A FLOP
In Asia, try to restart tourism too. But the cruise that left Singapore two days ago, the first after the stop decreed in March, is already over, because there is a positive on board the ship. All XNUMX passengers were quarantined in their cabins.
In the US, after a thousand postponements, an agreement is looming by Friday on a provisional budget. But, on the political front, the long electoral season is drawing to a close: Donald Trump has been rejected across the board. Slight increases for the indices: Dow Jones +0,35%, S&P +0,28%, Nasdaq +0,50%.
Vaccine stocks are in great shape: Pfizer advances by 3,16%, Johnson & Johnson +1,7%.
LONDON ALREADY NEGOTIATIONS ABOUT DUTIES WITH WASHINGTON
The euro pound appreciated slightly this morning, to 0,906. Great Britain yesterday lifted tariffs on some US products, in view of the opening of comprehensive negotiations with Washington.
BREXIT HANGING ON THE LAST SUPPER OF BORIS AND URSULA
Only tonight, at the end of the dinner between Ursula von der Leyen and Boris Johnson, her guest in Brussels, will it be possible to unblock the stalemate on Brexit, one of the elements of uncertainty that paralyzes the European political scene. Some signs, starting with the softening of London's position on Ireland, give hope for a last-minute agreement, but both the United Kingdom and the European Union do not want to give the impression of giving in. And so, given the precedents, yet another black smoke cannot be ruled out. Michel Barnier, the negotiator on behalf of the EU, said he was pessimistic. In any case, the European Commission said talks to establish future trade relations between Britain and the European Union could continue after the end of this year, when the Brexit transition period ends.
No less dramatic is the stalemate on the Recovery Fund, given the obstinacy of Poland and Hungary. The Hungarian premier, Viktor Orbán, said he was confident that an agreement could be reached: all that remains is to wait.
UNDERTONE BAGS, IMPROVE THE ZEW
Sitting with little history on the European squares. Milan (-0,24%) is no exception, in line with Paris (-0,23%), slightly better than Madrid (-0,59%).
Frankfurt is on positive ground (+0,08%) thanks to the good performance of the Zew index, which rose to 55 points in December, against 39 in November and much better than the pessimistic forecasts of analysts.
In London (+0,05%), the first time of the Pfizer vaccine counted more than Brexit.
BTP, AUCTIONS UNDERWAY. THE PORTUGUESE DECENNIAL BELOW ZERO
Even the bond market adjusts to the festive climate: modest trading, the Italian paper recovering in the final on the Bunds. The mid-month auctions kick off today with the placement of the annual bond, whose yields are substantially stable compared to the all-time low of -0,478% reached in mid-November. The 0,55-year trades at 0,602%. The yield on the XNUMX-year Bund fell to a roughly one-month low at -XNUMX%. Portugal's XNUMXth anniversary is also in negative territory for the first time.
THE MARKET PROMOTES MONCLER, BOOM FOR CUCINELLI
Banks closed, volumes modest. On a semi-holiday day, Piazza Affari celebrates the big hit of Made in Italy, namely the purchase of Stone Island by Moncler (+2,05%) and the takeover bid by Investindustrial on Guala Closures (+19%).
The purchase of Stone Island took place at a valuation of 1,15 billion. The 70% held by the Rivetti family will be paid half in cash, half with newly issued Moncler shares, at 37,50 euros each. Remo Ruffini's company will be able to purchase the remaining 30% from the Singapore Temasek fund under the same conditions. The total outlay for Moncler in this case will be 748 million. Finally, the Rivetti family, the historic name in Italian textile clothing, will confer the shares of Moncler (22,5% of the capital) to the group: Carlo Rivetti joins the board, even if the two brands will remain independent. This is how a new made in Italy group takes shape. Today some brokers raised the target price on the stock: Kepler Cheuvreux brought it to 44 euros from 38 euros, while Deutsche Bank to 46 euros from 35,5 euros.
Brunello Cucinelli is among the best blue chips today: +2,7%, to 36,1 euros. The gain since the beginning of the year has grown to +14%, just above that of Moncler.
GUALA (+19%) TAKES FLIGHT AFTER THE TAKEOVER OFFER
Guala Closures +19%. Special Packaging Solutions Investments (Spsi), vehicle of the InvestIndustrial fund, has reached an agreement for the purchase of packets of shares at 8,20 euros per share, bringing its stake to 48,9% of the capital. Spsi will therefore launch a mandatory takeover bid on the stock at the same price, which represents a premium of 26,6% compared to the average price of the Guala stock market over the last six months, says a statement.
SNAM LEADS THE SEVEN SISTERS OF GREEN HYDROGEN
Worth noting is the birth of the seven hydrogen sisters, with an important role for Snam (+0,7%), which together with seven other companies, including the Saudi power plant developer Acwa Power, and the Spanish utility Iberdrola, have launched a joint initiative to increase the production of "green" hydrogen over the next six years and reduce costs. The team is rounded out by Cwp Renewables, low-carbon technology group Envision, Danish renewable energy developer Ørsted and fertilizer company Yara. The initiative aims to deploy 25 gigawatts (GW) of renewable-based hydrogen production by 2026 and cut the current cost of fuel in half to less than $2 per kg. The goal will require an investment of about 110 billion dollars
FEW EXCHANGES, ONLY LEONARDO IN FLEXIBILITY
Banca Monte Paschi -0,3% and Unicredit -1%. At the end of a meeting with the regional secretaries of the trade unions, the president of the Tuscany Region, Eugenio Giani, said he will try to "induce the Government to maintain its shares in MPS to stop the process, which is feared to accelerate, for the merger with Unicredit".
Generali -0,8% and Cattolica +0,8%. Any exceeding by Generali of the threshold of 25% of Cattolica's share capital would not exempt the Trieste-based company from the obligation of a public purchase offer. This is what Consob clarified by responding to a question posed by Generali in a communication dated 24 November published today on its website.
Fiat Chrysler (-0,2%) believes that the Brazilian antitrust authority, Cade, will confirm its decision to approve the transaction unconditionally, despite a request for further details on the merger by one of the directors. The Ftse Mib Leonardo closes (-2,34%). Male Inwit (-1,99%) and Stm (-1,19%).
