Western financial markets closed the week on a generally positive note, partially reassured by the drop – actually very slight – in oil prices, even if in the background tension remains on the bond market, with government bond yields still very high. The T Bond US decennial, in particular, today rises well above the 5% threshold, reaching 5,2%, which is once again the highest level since 2007. Also watch out for our 10-year BTP, whose yield has broken 4,5%: the spread with the Bund is cooling slightly but remains well above 90 basis points. The French OAT is still a cause for concern, with a yield of 4,7% today.
Oil prices slightly down, but Brent remains above $100.
Oil, on the other hand, it was said, was slowing down its pace but It still remains above $100 a barrel with Brent at $106 and WTI Crude Oil at $94. News from the Middle East reports that the United States and Iran are considering a gradual agreement that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz and lift the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. Attempts to unblock the situation are reportedly underway on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, with Qatari officials playing a mediating role, although Iran reiterated the need to maintain control over HormuzEuropean natural gas fell 4% to 72 euros per megawatt-hour, while gold and silver remained stable at just under $4.300 and $64 an ounce, respectively.
Microsoft soars on the Nasdaq, boosted by Azure's acceleration
On Wall Street The Nasdaq seems to be doing better than the Dow Jones, which is currently in positive territory but timidly, with tech stocks mixed: among the most traded is still Meta, a big star of the week with the launch of AI Glasses incorporating the Muse platform, but which today, after several sessions of strong gains, retraced by -3%, probably due to post-hype profit-taking. Also in the red are Tesla -1,2%, SpaceX -1%, Intel -2,6%, Nebius -2,4%, while Microsoft bounces back by more than 3% With the market reassessing the prospects for Azure + AI + Copilot, Stifel raised Microsoft to “Buy” and the target from $530 to $575, citing an acceleration in Azure, and Oppenheimer raised the target to $570. At par, Nvidia, Micron in slightly positive territory, Sandisk +1%. The best stock in the Nasdaq-100 is Qualcomm +5,5%..
Piazza Affari recovers but does not reach 52.000 points again
Piazza Affari partially recovers after the debacles of the last few sessions, but not enough to find the 52.000 pointsThe FTSE MIB closed up 0,63%. Among the best performing stocks in the Italian Stock Exchange's main index today was the newcomer Technoprobe, which closed its first week of listing up 2,2% to €30 per share. Banks also reacted well: Unicredit +2,15%, Bper +2%, Mediobanca +1,5%, MPS +1,3%, Banco BPM +1,1%, and Intesa Sanpaolo +1%. However, Banca Ifis loses 11,2% after the CEO change: Frederik Geertman's replacement is Raffaele ZingoneHowever, the Bank of Italy's inspection report is penalizing the stock. The worst performer on the FTSE MIB, following the closing of the Poste Italiane takeover bid, is Telecom Italia -2,7%. Energy markets are also performing poorly: Eni -1,17%, Tenaris -1,9%, Hera -0,6%, Italgas -0,9%.
Other European stock markets are positive, except Paris
The other European stock markets closed in positive territory apart from Paris -0,04%, slowed by a luxury sector still strugglingL'Oréal, Hermès, and LVMH are in the red. Bernard Arnault's group has lost nearly a quarter of its stock market value since the beginning of the year, Hermès 35%. Frankfurt +0,56%, London +0,14%, Madrid +0,6%The exchange rate against the euro remains favorable for the US dollar, still below 1,14 today. Bitcoin remains stable, just below $84.000.
