Western stocks trending in the red, just a few reds away from a crucial evening: Meta and Microsoft's quarterly results, which will be released after the close of Wall Street, will give decisive indications on the state of the art of Artificial Intelligence, with the market still in turmoil today, and The Federal Reserve meeting will clarify the orientation of the new president Kevin Warsh. in the face of inflation, which has once again become a cause for concern due to the energy shock, to the point that after a series of cuts, investors are increasingly considering an interest rate hike by September.
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At Piazza Affari, Stm continues to be in the red. Eni makes a splash after its quarterly results.
Expectations are high, but nerves prevail. Piazza Affari continues its downward trend, closing today in the negative, down 0,5% at 51.440 points. Among the worst stocks, Stm -3,55% appears once again, in the wake of the chip sector's difficulties on the Nasdaq: today the composite index of US technology stocks lost 1%, while the Nasdaq-100 index fell 1,2%. Lottomatica also sold off heavily in Milan, down 4% and Italgas, down 4,5%, while Eni rose sharply. on the day of reckoning which saw their profits double in the second quarter and raised their guidance, the six-legged dog scores a brilliant +7%.
On Intesa's day of reckoning, the game of risk heats up again
However, Eni is not the only Italian major to have revealed its quarterly results today. also Intesa Sanpaolo, which forecasts a profit of over 10 billion euros in 2026. The stock did not react particularly markedly: -0,4%. Still on the subject of banks, the game of risk is heating up again and it's very hot these days the Banco Bpm-Mps axis, in a very complicated attempt to thwart Intesa Sanpaolo's takeover bid for the Siena-based group. Intesa's CEO Carlo Messina intervened bluntly"There's no chance of a relaunch for MPS. We'll be a safe haven for Siena shareholders." Meanwhile, Banco BPM and MPS shares are down 1% and 0,7%, respectively.
AI sees another nosedive on the Nasdaq as Meta and Microsoft wait for their results.
Moving overseas and back to the Nasdaq, it's another very heavy session for AI stocks: Micron -4%, Sandisk -6%, Nvidia -2,2%, SpaceX -4%. Today, the worst performer on the Nasdaq-100, again reflecting a downturn in the sector, is Nebius at -10%. GE HealthCare, on the other hand, is clearly in contrast with the trend with +11%., after posting quarterly results that significantly beat market expectations: earnings per share were $1,13, versus a consensus estimate of around $1,04. While awaiting the results, both Meta and Microsoft are trading little. Bitcoin rises just enough to regain $64.000.
Renewed conflict in the Middle East pushes oil prices to $90
The resumption of fighting in the Middle East has fueled fears of possible disruptions to oil and gas supplies and so today Brent crude prices jumped 7% to $90 a barrel, breaking a three-day bearish streak. WTI Crude Oil is approaching $85 a barrel again. News is also coming in that Yemen's Houthi rebels are reportedly considering imposing tariffs to ships transiting the Red Sea, heightening concerns about transportation costs and energy flows. Gold holds above $4.000 an ounce, while silver hovers around $57 an ounce.
Other European stock exchanges, the spread and the euro-dollar exchange rate
Today the dollar strengthens again against the euro, bringing the exchange rate back below the 1,14 threshold. As for the other stock markets, in addition to the European ones, it is certainly worth noting the umpteenth fall of the Nikkei in Tokyo -1,5% and above all Seoul's Kospi -6%In Europe, Paris -0,6%, Frankfurt and Amsterdam around parity, London +0,3%. The BTP-Bund spread is rising to around 83 basis points, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year BTP remaining just below the 4% threshold.
