The uncertainties have vanished. Operators run for cover for fear of being burned in time by the news of the EU agreement on Greek debt.
This is the obvious reading of the strong acceleration of the Stock Exchanges which all go on to mark substantial increases after the first indiscretions on the draft agreement being discussed this afternoon in Brussels at the summit of EU Heads of State and Government. In Piazza Affari, the FtseMib index rises by 1,93%, London marks +0,3%, Paris +1,1%, Frankfurt +0,6%.
Among the main points of the agreement there would be the possibility that the EFSF (the fund to save EU states) lend money to Athens at a rate of 3,5%. The EFSF itself will also be able to make buyback interventions on the market to buy Greek government bonds. The capital could come from the 0,025% tax on bank assets, a measure that seemed to have subsided after the strong reaction of the banking lobbies in the morning.
The strong signal of Europe's willingness to commit itself to bailing out Greece is nonetheless being felt on the government bond market. The yield of the BTP falls by 13 basis points to 5,43%, the spread with the Bund falls to 265 basis points. The euro strengthens to 1,425 against the dollar. In Piazza Affari, the increases are widespread among all the blue chips, in particular among the banks. Intesa +4,1%, Unicredit +3,4%, Banco Popolare +3,3%. Before the trend reversal, the FtseMib index had suffered losses on fear of a failure of the summit which got underway at 13pm.
