Accounts effect also on MPS, profit up by 41%
Banca MPS are also under scrutiny, after the publication of the first quarter numbers, archived with a net profit of 333 million, up 41% compared to the result of the same quarter of 2023 and higher than analysts’ consensus estimates (280 million). Stocks are volatile after the recent run, however. The CEO, Luigi Lovaglio, however supported the share price by asserting that the 2024 pre-tax profit will be higher than that of last year and that the institute does not intend to think about acquiring banking assets. “Obviously we will not acquire banking assets, we know we have a very strong capital position, perhaps there will be a different approach in the new dividend policy plan,” he declared.
St sprints with Infineon, Campari runs, Ferrari down
Finecobanks moved little after the quarterly report, while Amplifon continued to run in the wake of the release of the accounts. And Stmicroelectronics are still in evidence, rising sharply in the wake of the German Infineon (in spite of the latter’s declining quarterly results), Snam Rete Gas and Davide Campari. The latter closed the first quarter with a pre-tax profit of 145 million, an increase of 8.6%. Telecom Italia is sluggish, despite Tim Brasil recording the best first quarter in its history. And again, Ferrari recorded a strong slowdown, despite the company announcing that it had recorded a net profit of 352 million euros in the first three months of the year, up 19% compared to the same period a year ago and against a consensus of 337 million. The leaders also confirmed their expectations for the end of the year.
Outside the Ftse Mib, the spotlight is on Anima and Iren
The Anima Holding companies are out of the main list following the quarterly report and the announcement of the shareholder remuneration policy, with the launch of the 40 million buyback. Instead the Irens slip, on the news of the CEO’s precautionary measuresPaolo Emilio Signorini, together with the president of the Liguria Region, Giovanni Toti.
Manufacturing sector orders declining in Germany
On the macroeconomic front, orders to the manufacturing sector in March in Germany recorded a decrease of 0.4% on a monthly basis and 1.9% on an annual basis, while the German trade surplus reached 22.3 billion euros, lower than estimates but higher than the 21.4 billion euros of February 2024. It also emerged that in March the volume of retail sales in the euro area increased by 0.8% compared to February, by 1.2% in the EU. In February they had fallen by 0.3% and 0.1%. Compared to a year earlier +0.7% and +2% respectively.
Focus on central banks
In any case, investors’ focus remains on the moves of central banks: in Europe, confidence in an upcoming rate cut remains high interest rates , while the situation is less clear in the States, with the macro data mixed. On the eve of the New York Fed president, John Williamsassured that there will be a rate cut, but that the current level of monetary policy is still “in a good position”, without denying that the surprise on the latest US inflation data is a source of concern.
