Asian stocks are in deep red as investors grapple with the risk posed by the intensification of US technological war with China in sectors such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and aerospace. The euro's rise has faded as investors wait for Germany to finalize its new government. Gold hits all-time high on tariff concernsInvestors are cautious ahead of AI darling's results NvidiaAlso weighing on sentiment is Trump's indication that the proposed taxes for Mexico and Canada are due to come into effect next week, despite investors having hoped that negotiations would avert the threat.
Wall Street: Tech Stocks Fall, But Not Apple
The New York Stock Exchange closed at parity yesterday, with the Dow Jones which stands at 43.461 points, while, on the contrary, it is positioned below the parity lineS&P-500, which stops at 5.983 points. Instead, the technology actions, bringing into negative the Nasdaq 100 (-1,21%), except Apple after he announced that he had spent 500 billion dollars in investments in the United States over the next four years and created approximately 20.000 jobs in research and development across the country. Below par theS & P 100, which shows a decrease of 0,58%. Investors are waiting for the key data, scheduled for tomorrow, of the Nvidia accounts, questioning whether massive spending on AI is justified after DeepSeek showed it could be had at a lower cost. Analysts expect Nvidia to see a 72% increase in quarterly revenue.
In this context, i Treasury yields hit new lows in the Asian session, with 10-year yields hitting a two-month low of 4,377% while two-year yields hit 4,156%, their lowest since early December.
The next appointment will be with the survey on consumer confidence in the United States conducted by Conference Board, where analysts fear a repeat of the plunge seen in the University of Michigan’s equivalent survey. Later in the day, Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan and Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin will speak to central bank observers, who expect them to reiterate the message that the Fed will be cautious in cutting rates. Market participants are looking ahead to Friday’s PCE inflation, the Fed’s preferred measure of price action.
Asia in the red under the weight of Trump's threats
They weigh heavily in Asia Trump's tariff threats. Media reports say Donald Trump's administration is further tightening restrictions on purchases of U.S. semiconductors by entities linked to China and is pressuring key allies to follow suit. Bloomberg reports that senior White House officials recently met with their Japanese and Dutch counterparts to discuss introducing restrictions on the industrial activity of Tokyo Electron and ASML Holding. Trump's goal, in agreement with Biden, is to bring allies into line with the United States. According to the media, Washington also wants to further limit the quantity and type of chips that Nvidia is currently authorized to export to China.
The Index Hang Seng of Hong Kong initially fell as much as 2,7%, dragged down by a nearly 8% plunge in the tech giant Alibaba after it had already lost 10% in US trading, in the biggest daily drop in over two years. The losses have subsequently reduced: Alibaba is at -3,5% but they are rising Li car +14% and Xiaom+4% and the Hang Seng Index limited losses to -0,7%. The CSI 300 Index of stock exchanges Shanghai and Shenzhen -0,6%. Taiex Index of Taipei -1%.
MSCI's broad index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1,3%. Japanese Nikkei returned from a holiday down 0,9%, but shares of its five largest trading firms rose on interest from billionaire investor Warren Buffett. Tokyo Electron is down 4%that yen is below the psychological threshold of 150, at 149,5. In Japan, service prices in January rose 3,1% on an annual basis, up from the previous +3% (the forecast was +2,9%).
THEIndonesia and Apple have agreed on terms to lift the country's iPhone 16 ban, it said Bloomberg News, citing people familiar with the matter
La Bank of Korea cut its interest rates by a quarter point as expected, helping South Korean stocks par their losses. The central bank also said it was cutting its GDP forecast for the current year to 1,5% from 1,9% in November 2024. The new projection is even lower than the 1,6-1,7% range suggested by the BoK in January, signaling a worsening economic situation. Finally, the country is weighed down by political uncertainty following the brief declaration of martial law on December 3 by President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is now under impeachment proceedings and facing trial for insurrection and abuse of power.
Euro falls from highs, gold rises toward $3.000 an ounce
Trump's tariff threats have led investors to flee back to gold, which has returned to near $3.000 an ounce. In currency markets, the rally of the euro has faded, back to where it started the week. It is at $1,0461 this morning, after hitting a monthly high of $1,0528 after the German elections produced no nasty surprises. The US dollar rebounded from a 2-month low against its major currencies to settle at 106,75.
The prices of Petroleum were up slightly. Brent crude rose 0,2% to $74,93 a barrel, while U.S. crude rose 0,3% to $70,92 a barrel. Gold fell 0,2% to $2.945 an ounce, after hitting a record high of $2.956,15 on Monday.
European stocks seen opening lower. Eyes on Stellantis
Le European stock exchanges are seen opening slightly lower based on futures indications (-0,4%)
In the Eurozone, attention is mainly paid to the evolution of the situation in Germany where a two-party government is taking shape: CDU/CSU+SPD with immigration, tax cuts, and investments in European defense on the table. This morning the German GDP in the fourth quarter on a quarterly basis it was -0,2%, down from the previous +0,1% (in line with analysts' estimates). Yesterday the Dax closed up +0,6% at 22.425 points. The highlights were Rhein Metall +4%, in anticipation of massive investments in the European defense sector, the energy giants, He +2,8% and E. Hon +3%, in the perspective of strong investments in energy infrastructure. Automotive also rebounds: Volkswagen + 2,5% Mercedes-Benz + 1,4% bmw +1,3%, which expects a more accommodating approach from the new government.
Featured titles in Milan
Stellantis. Negative start to the year for the Stellantis group in Europe, which is doing worse than the market. According to Acea data, in the EU+EFTA+UK, the registrations Group sales in January 2025 were 154.079, down 16% from a year earlier, with market share falling to 15,5% from 18%. In the European Union, registrations were 133.506, down 17,9% year-on-year, with market share at 16,1%, versus 19,1% a year earlier. As for other brands, in January Peugeot registered 55.445 vehicles (-3,4%), Opel/Vauxhall 28.449 (-27,7%), Citroen 27.170 (-16,8%), Fiat 23.608 (-20,4%), Jeep 10.984 (-9,6%), Alfa Romeo 4.792 (+21,3%), DS 2.191 (-41,1%) and Lancia 1.052 (-73,2%).
Eni has signed three agreements with Emirati companies on data centers, electricity interconnections and critical minerals, as part of the new bilateral strategic partnership launched on the occasion of the state visit to Rome of the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan.
Saipem meets today the board of directors on the preliminary 2024 accounts and the 2025-2028 strategic plan. Bernstein raises the target price from 3,32 to 3,54 euros
Intesa Sanpaolo has signed a memorandum of understanding with Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) to strengthen the parties' collaboration in M&A activities.
Moncler. Bernstein cut the rating from outperform to market perform, while raising the target price from 60 to 65 euros.Stm. According to Les Echos, the Italian government wants to oust Chery CEO.
Leonardo. Bloomberg reports that Germany is discussing a €200 billion defense spending package. Co-Director General Lorenzo Mariani said that a collaboration with Saudi investors in the aerospace and defense sectors will mainly concern existing programs, such as Eurofighter and NH90, and could be a prerequisite for Riyadh's entry into the long-term project for the sixth-generation fighter, alongside Italy, the United Kingdom and Japan, reports La Repubblica.
Italian post Berenberg raises target price. The company is ready to support the consolidation of the telecommunications market in Italy, after it became the second largest shareholder of Tim, following the exchange of its stake in Nexi with a stake held by Cdp in the telecommunications company. This was stated by CEO Matteo Del Fante
