(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – After a colorless week, the European stock exchanges are restarting on the right foot, after Chinese data that signal an acceleration of the economy in the fourth quarter and the stimulus move by the Chinese central bank on some interest rates relevant for bank loans. The indices are therefore rising, albeit modest, in a session that will be without the Wall Street lighthouse, closed for Martin Luther King Day. Thus the FTSE MIB in Milan, the CAC 40 in Paris, the DAX 40 travel at an uncertain pace. Frankfurt, London’s Ftse 100, Madrid’s IBEX 35 and Amsterdam’s AEX.
More specifically, the Chinese central bank cut two interest rates (the 1-year Medium-Term Lending Facility and the 7-day Reverse Repo) to support the economy. In the fourth quarter, the data showed a Chinese GDP growing by 4% annually (+ 4.9% in the third quarter), but accelerating quarter on quarter (+ 1.6% compared to + 0.2%). Interesting information will come from the appointments on the agenda: the Eurogroup meets in Brussels. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, in streaming, the Chinese and Indian presidents, Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi, speak. The final inflation data is expected in Italy.
Telecom down in Milan, Tenaris rises and eyes on Generali
Among the big companies in Piazza Affari, Telecom Italia immediately went downhill: according to the rumors of the weekend, CDP would aim at a reorganization of Telecom’s activities which does not pass from the takeover bid on the market and which seems to diminish the chances of success for Kkr. Sales on healthcare companies, Tenaris highlights. Leonardo still uphill after the new contracts for over 260 million euros with Hensoldt. Among the banking stocks, Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo rose. Little move Generali: after the resignation of Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone from the board came the step backwards of Romolo Bardin, CEO of Delfin, the other strong partner of the pact that collects about 16% of the capital and is preparing to launch his own list for the renewal of the board of directors of the Trieste company. Out of the Ftse Mib, Iren made little move and bought photovoltaic plants in Puglia for 112.5 MW.
Stable spread below 140 points, ten-year yield rises
Stable trend for the spread between BTp and Bund. The yield differential between the ten-year Italian benchmark (IT0005436693) and the same German maturity stands at 137 basis points, unchanged from Friday’s levels. On the other hand, the yield of the ten-year benchmark BTp rose, which at start-up stood at 1.35% from 1.33 of the closing on the eve of the day.
Oil still rising, the euro remains above 1.14 dollars
Oil prices still rising while the Saudi energy minister said he was not worried about current levels: Brent in March is trading at 86.5 dollars a barrel, WTI in March at 83.87 dollars a barrel.
On the currency market, the euro changes hands at 1.1425 (from 1.1420). Euro / yen to 130.76 (from 130.002), dollar / yen to 114.43 (from 113.84).
Tokyo closes up 0.74% on tech stocks
Closing up for the Tokyo Stock Exchange which ended the first session of the week in positive territory, driven by stocks in the technology sector and by the performance marked by Wall Street last Friday. At the end of the session, the Nikkei index finished with a gain of 0.74%, at 28,333.52 points. Positive sitting also for the broader Topix index which closed the day with a rise of 0.46% to 1,986.71 points.