Even before the ECB meeting and the US inflation data, the two most awaited data of the week, the markets have already made their choices. This is what can be deduced from the performance of bonds, which are falling sharply in price against a formidable inflow of liquidity. The ten-year US Treasury Note moves to a level of yield not seen for about three months, around 1,47%. The BTP slows down to 0,81% to its lowest in a month, the German Bund slips to -0,25% after a decision with an evident political flavor: the European Commission has decided to start an infringement procedure against Germany for "the interference of the German Constitutional Court on the issue of bond purchases by the ECB", an issue on which the highest legal body of the European Union has already expressed itself positively. It is another sign that there is no room, for now, for a squeeze on the old continent. Just as the probable increase in prices in the USA (4,7% from 4,2% expected) will not lead to a change in Fed policy in the short term. At the most, next week, a first reference to the end-of-summer tapering.
Against this backdrop, the Asian stock exchanges regain strength. The CSI 300 index of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets is up 1%. Same trend, but with smaller positive variations, for Tokyo's Nikkei and Hong Kong's Hang Seng.
On the eve of Joe Biden's first diplomatic mission, today in London with the aim of strengthening the US-Europe alliance in an anti-China key, the trade ministers of the two world superpowers, Wang Wentao and Gina Raimondo, spoke on the phone , for a "frank and pragmatic" conversation which in the jargon of international relations translates into tense and not calm. Relations with Moscow are worse: according to the Russian court, Navalny and the other dissidents are terrorists, therefore they cannot participate in the elections.
The US markets were weak yesterday: Dow Jones -0,44%, S&P 599 -0,19%, Nasdaq -0,18%.
Biden is about to present the White House plan which plans to supply 500 million doses of vaccines to a hundred needy countries by 2022. Pfizer advances: + 2,5%.
The dance of the day traders continues. Geo, a company that manages prisons (+38,4%) and the Wrestling Association (+10,9%) ended up in the sights.
WTI oil trades at USD69,5 a barrel, down 0,5%. To confirm that the projects for the development of fields and infrastructures for crude oil are slowing down or are at a standstill, news arrived tonight of the halt to the construction of the Keystone XL maxi-pipeline between Canada and the USA. Both Exxon and Shell have begun reviewing investment plans in the wake of shareholders' meeting results and court decisions.
El Salvador yesterday became the first nation to adopt bitcoin as its national currency. A project to use extinct volcanoes as mines to produce cryptocurrencies has also started, Reuter informs us.
MILAN (-0,26%) RETURNS AWAITING THE ECB
Operators waited yesterday for today's appointments: the meeting of the board of the ECB and the data on inflation in the United States in May stand out. Thus the script of the past few days is repeated: stock markets with little movement, one step away from the highs. Weak bonds, even if very few expect the ECB to hint at a change of course before the moves of the Federal Reserve which will meet next week.
Piazza Affari, in particular, suffered a loss of 0,26%, to 25.741 points, while remaining above the barrier of 25.500 points.
PROFIT BACK AT INDITEX (ZARA)
The other listings contrasted: Frankfurt dropped 0,39%; London -0,22% under downward pressure on mining stocks; Amsterdam +0,46%; Paris +0,19%.
The national airlines Air France, Lufthansa and IAG recorded increases of more than 2% in the wake of the fall in restrictions on flights to the United States.
Madrid +0,07%. Inditex (-1,9%), on which the Zara, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Oysho, Pull and Bear and Stradivarius brands depend, announced 423 million euro of profit for the first quarter, against a loss of 409 million in the same period of the previous year. In the three months, the world leader in large-scale clothing retailing recorded a 49,6% annual rebound in sales to 4,94 billion euros, against the 4,85 billion expected.
THE NEW BTP 10 IS SPLIT AMONG FOREIGNERS (85,4%)
A session under the sign of an increase for the Italian bond, awaiting the directorate of the ECB which should confirm the accommodating approach.
The ten-year BTP rate settled in the 0,78% area, compared to 0,81% at the start and 0,82% in the previous session, after having touched a minimum of 0,75% since the end of April.
The spread on the Bund on the ten-year segment closes at 103 basis points from 104 on the previous day.
The Treasury announced that it was mostly foreign investors (85,4%) who bought the new 10-year BTP issued on Tuesday via syndicate for 10 billion euros, on orders that came close to 68 billion. Yesterday the ministry placed 7,5 billion euros of 12-month bonds, with the yield falling to -0,49% from -0,443% of the May placement.
Greece has raised 2,5 billion euros with the reopening of the 10-year government bond, which has seen demand exceed 30 billion.
FERRARI, COLD REPLY TO THE CEO THAT COMES FROM STM
Judging by the performance of the stock, the operators coldly welcomed the appointment of Benedetto Vigna as Ferrari's number one (-2,65%). But, in truth, the most worried are the analysts who follow Stm (+0,71%), the company in which Vigna worked for 26 years. According to Equita "Vigna was instrumental in the invention of MEMS and in the introduction of innovative sensors and would have been crucial in the transition period", which the Imaging business is preparing to face.
ELKANN BETS ON TECHNOLOGY, NO ARMANI FOR THE TIME
Going back to Ferrari, John Elkann focused on technological excellence as a function of the (not only) electric revolution of the car. The CEO of Exor has chosen a physicist who has more than 200 patents and a long collaboration with Nintendo and Apple behind him, shelving the investment bank project of a merger with Armani: Exor should have acquired the maison of the divine Giorgio who at a later stage, thanks to a reserved capital increase, he would have reached a 29% stake in the Agnelli holding company.
Weak Stellantis, -1,4%. CNH Industrial loses 1,20%, Exor 0,37%.
THE NEXI RALLY CONTINUES, BPER REBOUNDS
Nexi (+2,74%) was also in great evidence yesterday on the wave of the recovery in the volume of transactions from mid-April: in the last week of May, business grew by 12% compared to 2019.
Among the banks, positive performances for Bper (+0,84%), Unicredit (+0,22%) and Mediobanca (+0,16%).
ENEL, ORDERS FOR 11,3 BILLION FOR SUSTAINABLE BONDS
Diasorin (+0,8%) and Recordati (+1%) rebound. Purchases also on utilities: Hera grows by 1,8%, A2A +1,76% after the agreement with Ardian.
Enel closed flat after announcing the launch of a multi-tranche "Sustainability-Linked bond" aimed at institutional investors for a total of 3,25 billion euros, on the Eurobond market, by Enel Finance International (financial subsidiary Dutch). The bond, guaranteed by Enel, received total orders for around 11,3 billion.
In fashion, Moncler slows down (-2,24%). Safilo Leap: +9%.
WEBUILD WON THE HIGH SPEED AT THE BRENNER
Among the mid caps, Webuild rises (+0,49%) after a consortium, led by the company with a 51% interest, was awarded the RFI order for the Fortezza and Ponte Gardena high-speed railway section (22,5 km) in continuation of the Brenner base tunnel.
Autogrill decreased (-1,81%) in the wake of the approval of the capital increase for a value of approximately 599,6 million. Money on Aim went to Marzocchi Pompe (+5,48%), which continued on the path of the gains on the eve (+8,42%) after Integrae Sim started hedging the stock with a buy rating and a target price of 6,8 .XNUMX euros.
