Positive closing for the European markets, with Frankfurt in pole position, +1,18% e Warmer Milan, +0,34%, 19.043 points, supported by oil and industrialists, but held back by the thud of some financial companies, in particular Banca Mediolanum -6,73%, which plummets in the finale. Fractional increases for Paris +0,49% and Madrid +0,32%, while London stops at -0,34%, partly penalized by the slide by HSBC, after the presentation of profits below estimates. In the morning, stock markets benefited from data on economic activity in the Eurozone, which unexpectedly jumped to a six-year high in February, according to the composite PMI index. In the afternoon the trend consolidates with the opening of Wall Street, which restarts in fourth place but then partially retraces, after the long break weekend. Apple hits new infra-day all-time highs at 136,6 dollars (+0,48%), while accusing the EU of having violated its right "to good administration" with the request to pay back taxes in Ireland for 13 billion EUR.
Oil contributes above all to putting the turbo on the markets: Brent up 1,42%, $56,98 a barrel, as euro loses ground against the dollar, -0,66%, 1,054, ahead of a more likely rate hike in March by the Fed. Gold down: -0,17%, 1237,21 dollars an ounce.
The European political framework, on the other hand, maintains under pressure the spread. In closing, the differential between the 10-year Btp and the Bund rises by 1,66% and returns to 190.30 points, yield 2,22%. The verdict of the European Commission on the corrective maneuver of 0,2% of GDP requested by the EU. The stocks of other countries are also in check, starting with Spain and France. For the latter, the cost of insuring the public debt against default has also risen to its highest in over three years. According to Markit data, 5-year credit default swaps (CDS) on French debt are at about 67 basis points and there is a probability of about 5,5% of a default by France within 5 years (it was 3% at the beginning of February).
In Piazza Affari, oil&gas stocks shine: Eni +2,32%; Tenaris +2,8%; Saipem +0,43%. Most of the utilities were positive: Italgas +0,58%, A2a +0,79%, Terna +1,09%. Industrialists rally: Brembo +2,06%; Buzzi Unicem +2,58%; Recorded +1,76%; Ferrari +1,06%; Stm +1,25%.
Poor session for Prysmian, +2,63%, which was awarded a 300 million contract with the Réseau de Transport d'Électricité (RTE). In luxury, Ferragamo stands out, +1,22%, whose 'perfumes' segment closed 2016 with revenues of 89 million (+0,5%), benefiting above all from the double-digit growth in sales in Italy.
Purchases for the Mediaset share, +1,17%, also in the wake of the performance on the Star segment of Mondadori +10,82%, which approved the 2017-2019 plan, with very positive forecasts. In recent days the Berlusconi family, with Fininvest, has risen to 53,299% of the publishing house.
Contrast the financial ones. Sales hit Unicredit -1,49% and Banco Bpm -3,14%. Thud of Banca Mediolanum (-6,73%), after the release of the 2016 accounts in sharp decline, even if a unit dividend of 0,24 euros will be offered to the shareholders. Session to forget for Azimut -3,08%. Intesa was moderately positive, -0,18%, with a unit dividend of 17,8 cents, while the subsidiary Banca Imi puts a dividend of 654,5 million on the plate for the parent company. Increases of around 1% for Unipol (+1,07%) and Unipolsai (+1,2%).
The market seems to bet on a victory for Juventus (+2,45%) in the first leg of the round of XNUMX of the Champions League: tomorrow night the black and whites will face Porto.
Finally, we point out a "recovery" of the housing market. Indeed, according to Scenari Immobiliari, Italy too should grow by 4% in 2017, far from the 8,4% of the rest of Europe, but with a clear rise. Residential sales should therefore reach 550 thousand.
