Historic session for the Ftse Mib index of Piazza Affari, which slows down at the end but still almost reaches the 54.000 basis point threshold collecting +0,44%, thanks above all to some banking and defense stocks such as Avio +5,7%, Banco Bpm +4% and Leonardo +2%, but also to luxury with Moncler +1,4%, to semiconductors with the recovery of Stm +1,3% and to Energy, which today benefits from the rise in oil and gas prices with Eni +1,36% and Saipem +1,2%. The Milan Stock Exchange is evidently benefiting from a earnings season that delivered generally solid results for several Italian blue chips, fueling purchases.
Piazza Affari nears 54.000 points with Difesa and Banco Bpm
Today the accounts of Bper were released, which achieved the best semester ever but this was not enough for the stock, which closed down 0,75%, below 15 euros per share. Generali also published its quarterly results after the markets closed., which closed the session up 0,45%, in line with the FTSE MIB index. Other European stock markets performed less well: Paris up 0,35%, Frankfurt at par, London down 0,2%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 index up 0,5%. The US dollar regains the upper hand against the euro, but the exchange rate is holding above the 1,15 threshold. On the currency front, Bitcoin is also noteworthy for its substantial stalemate, having been hovering around $64.000 for some time now, without any significant upheavals. The BTP Bund spread remains well below the 80 point threshold. base, in the 77 point area, with the yield on the 10-year BTP below 3,90%.
Commodities: Brent crude oil above $80 a barrel
On the commodity front, as mentioned, oil and gas prices are rising again. In particular European natural gas jumps 7% today to 56 euros per megawatt hour on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, after falling to a three-week low in the previous session. The story is always the same: despite Iran's announcement that it has reached an agreement with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, LNG supply risks remain highGas shipments through this key waterway continue to suffer significant disruptions, delaying deliveries from major exporters such as Qatar.
Brent oil re-climbs the $80 a barrel mark reaching the 82 dollar area, while WTI Crude Oil stands at 77 dollars a barrel. Stable seating for gold and silver, with the former confirming around $4.250 an ounce, and the latter remaining above $60, around $61 an ounce to be precise. Safe-haven assets are benefiting from the trend decline in energy prices, which has reduced the certainty of a possible rate hike by the Federal Reserve this year. Consequently, Treasury yields fell, pushing gold prices higher, as markets faced lower opportunity costs for holding non-interest-bearing assets.
Nasdaq turns red: heavy losses for Sandisk after the financial statements
Today Wall Street is set for a mixed session but tending towards the negative: Nasdaq finds some support from AI-related stocks and some quarterly results, while the Dow Jones is weaker because it is more exposed to industrial, financial, and healthcare stocks, which are suffering profit-taking after the recent rally to new all-time highs. As European stock markets close, however, the Nasdaq is also in the red, where Sandisk was the focus today following its shocking results: the stock is down more than 4%. Nvidia and Palantir also fell, while Micron and SpaceX rebounded.Among the traditional big tech companies, the best performer is Microsoft +2%. The best performing stock in the Nasdaq-100 basket today is Astera Labs +6,3%: The chip company beat expectations for both earnings and revenue, with revenue doubling year-over-year and third-quarter guidance significantly above analyst consensus.
