Between now and January 20, the date of inauguration in the White House of President Joe Biden, the United States is about to experience one of the most delicate and dangerous moments in its history: Donald Trump, deprived indefinitely of his accounts on Facebook and Instagram, he said he would ensure an orderly transition of power and appealed for the country's unity. But his credibility is close to zero: isn't the tycoon simply trying to avert the impeachment and in the meantime preparing another surprise? However, the doubts do not belong to the financial markets, which have already moved on
The compact US markets closed on new highs. The Dow Jones (+0,70%) consolidated above 30 points, the S&P 500 advanced by 1,48%. The Nasdaq (+2,50%) recovers accumulated losses. New record also for Russell 2000, the SME price list. Wall Street's S&P 500 index future is up 0,3% this morning.
The dollar is slowly catching up against its benchmark counterparts. Dollar index at 89,8. Euro-dollar at 1,226. In short, Wall Street has already tuned in to the next aid to the economy and counts on the speedy recovery of the image of the States. Meanwhile, the road to the East is being strengthened. China, but not only.
SEOUL +4% THANKS ALSO TO THE CHIPS
The surprise comes from South Korea. The Kospi of Seoul (+4%) reaches the new maximum in history, also thanks to the +25% of Hyundai Motors: the automotive manufacturer has admitted that it has entered into negotiations with Apple for the production of batteries for iCar, the car that Apple plans to put on the market in 2024.
Samsung Electronics, meanwhile, was up 3% on the release of quarterly data: operating profit climbed 24% year-on-year to 9.000 trillion won ($8,24 billion), thanks to strong demand for home electronics.
China slows down: the CSI 300 index of the Shanghai and Shenzen stock exchanges loses 1%. Bloomberg argues that exports risk slowing down because logistics, starting with containers, are unable to keep up with demand.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index is up 1%. Alibaba moves in line with the index: tonight the Financial Times he wrote that the Chinese authorities, appealing to national security legislation, have ordered the local media not to report news regarding the Antitrust investigation into the company and its founder Jack Ma, who has been absent from the public scene since the end of October.
Brent oil at 54,5 dollars a barrel, the highest since February. Gold down 0,3% to $1.909.
THE BITCOIN MARKET EXCEEDS A THOUSAND BILLION DOLLARS
Not surprisingly, the decline in the yellow metal coincides with the boom in Bitcoin, which yesterday exceeded the threshold of 40.000 dollars (37.750 euros), doubling its price in the space of a month. The global value of cryptocurrencies has passed the $3 trillion mark. This morning the virtual currency is down 38.800%, to XNUMX dollars. JP Morgan believes that in a short time the price will multiply by more than three times, only due to the arrival of liquidity that is increasingly flowing out of ETFs that have gold as their underlying.
DEFLATION AND PANDEMIC HOLDING BACK THE RALLY IN EUROPE
The shock of the images arriving from Capitol Hill has certainly shaken the strings of the European markets. And so, after yesterday's free-range session (before the riots) the Stock Exchanges of the Old Continent, albeit in positive territory, limited themselves to consolidating the gains made on the eve. The indications of the ECB's monthly Economic Bulletin contributed to complicating the picture, which confirm the "significant" drop in activity in the last quarter of 2020. Furthermore, it will take time for vaccinations to support a recovery of activity towards normality . In particular, consumer prices in December grew by only 0,3% over the month, bringing inflation to -0,3% against a forecast of +0,2%. Eurostat also reported that euro zone retail sales came in far lower than expected, down 6,1%.
MARKET PLACE +0,05% TO THE HIGHEST FOR TEN MONTHS
Piazza Affari consolidated the gains on the eve closing flat (+0,05%), at 22.746 points. In the morning, the main basket of Piazza Affari reached the new highs of the last ten months, at 22.850 points.
Frankfurt also updated its all-time highs in the session, closing up by 0,6%; Uphill finish also in Paris (+0,7%), Madrid (+0,39%) and London (+0,28%).
The cyclical sectors linked to growth (such as mining, energy, construction) stand out in the Old Continent, also in the perspective of further US stimuli.
The euro is falling fractionally, with the exchange rate around 1,226.
7 BILLION BOTS COMING SOON, FOREIGNERS RACE AT BTP 15
Btp on the rise on the ten-year maturity. The spread on the Bund closes at 111 points from 112 on the previous day. The 0,56-year rate stands at 0,57%, compared to XNUMX% the previous session.
The Treasury has meanwhile announced that foreign investors have acquired almost 74% of the new 15-year issued via syndication on Tuesday. The largest share is that subscribed by British investors (29,1%).
At the January 12 auction, the Treasury will offer 7 billion 12-month BOTs for auction.
BPER LEADS THE RACE OF BANKS
In Piazza Affari, banking risk continues to hold sway. Bper was the best stock of the Ftse Mib with an increase of 6,18% to 1,6485 euros. Exane Bnp Paribas analysts raised the target price on the lender from 1,9 to 2,6 euros, confirming the outperform recommendation. For the broker, the stock, together with Banco Bpm (+3%), is the best to focus on the M&A theme. "We have a preference for Bper, as we expect the exchange rate to approach the current differential of 20-25% on the p/e", explain the analysts, who expect a merger in 2021. In the event that the possible deal should not go through, according to the experts "the institution could explore a merger with Popolare Sondrio".
OF THE OLD SAY NO TO UNICREDIT-MPS
Unicredit's appeal is still strong (+1%). Credit Suisse lowers the target price to 8,80 euros. Some of the shareholders, including Leonardo Del Vecchio's Delfin, the CariVerona Foundation and the Crt Foundation, do not like the hypothesis of a merger with Banca Monte Paschi. Collectively, these shareholders are worth about 5% of the capital. Yesterday however, Reuters reported that the Treasury, through Amco, would be ready to take 14 billion euros of non-performing loans at a favorable price, in order to facilitate the subsequent combination with Monte Paschi.
BIDEN EFFECT FOR BUZZI AND PRYSMIAN
Buzzi (+3,2%) and Prysmian (+2,64%) are, according to Equita, the stocks that can take advantage of the US infrastructure plan, which is closer to the Democratic victory in the Senate. "In the field building materials, Buzzi in the USA generates 55% of the ebitda”, the analysts explain. “Prysmian, on the other hand, generates 35% of the group's EBITDA in North America”.
Agnelli galaxy in no particular order: Exor rises by 1,47% and Fiat by 1,79%, just over a week after the official completion of the merger with Peugeot and the birth of Stellantis. Ferrari, on the other hand, was down (-0,86%), penalized by Citi's cut of its recommendation from 'buy' to 'neutral'.
SPRINT BY PIRELLI AND BREMBO
In the automotive sector, Pirelli (+3,4%) and Brembo (+1,5%) also shine, which completed the acquisition of SBS Friction, a Danish company that develops and produces brake pads for motorcycles in innovative and eco-friendly materials. sustainable.
MEDIOBANCA DEFENDS RECORDATI, KEPLER AWARDS UNIEURO
Among the worst stocks of the session was Recordati (-3,76%), on which however Mediobanca Securities confirmed an outperform rating and target price of 51,7 euro.
Leap of Safilo (+8%). Unieuro +9,60%: Kepler Cheuvreux raised the target price from 17,6 to 20,8 euros, confirming the buy recommendation.
