THEUS economy it turns out more weak than expected and the world trembles: the week of the financial markets ends today in the worst possible way. THE European lists they archive trades in deep red. Wall Street sinks in the middle of the day, with Intel which records a shock loss of approximately 29%. The Nasdaq (-2,8%) is in correction and is down more than 10% from the peak reached in July after the weak employment numbers. In Asia, in the previous hours, Tokyo (-5,73%) experienced its second worst session in history. They also collapse dollar e Petroleum.euro it gains 1,2% against the greenback and trades in the 1,092 area. Brent lost almost 3%, 77,16 dollars a barrel; the WTI does even worse, for a price of $73,72. Only the T-bond prices, which see rates falling sharply.
Black Friday in Europe
In this global Caporetto Business Square it yields 2,55% and saves just 32 thousand basis points, ballasted by the banks, while rumors return about possible taxes on extra profits. However, the credit sector is not the only one under pressure, given that Azimuth (-6,12%), stm (-5,77%), Saipem (-5,37%) are the worst blue chips of the day.
In the rest of Europe the black jersey goes to Zurich, -3,67%, which did not open yesterday due to holidays. The main index is almost entirely down and UBS is in line with its colleagues, leaving 8,1% on the ground. The most technological price list on the continent, that of Amsterdam, falls by 3,11%, Frankfurt -2,28% Madrid -1,66% Paris -1,61% London -1,32%.
A perfect storm on equities: US employment disappoints
What triggered this global wave of sales was an almost perfect storm that strengthened after the report on'occupation non-agricultural in July in the United States.
The jobs created were 114 thousand more than in June against estimates of 185 thousand. There unemployment è words at 4,3% against confirmation expectations of 4,1%. This trend, combined with the fact that US manufacturing activity fell to an eight-month low last month, has ignited an explosive mixture. The odds are now rising that a September la Fed cuts i rates by 50 basis points instead of 25 basis points, but the fear is that it is too late and that the economy's landing will not be as soft as hoped.
Furthermore, European and American credit institutions are looking with concern at the next possible rate cuts because their margins will fall.
Elliott: Nvidia is on the bubble
Another burning chapter is that of technology stocks alarmed by Intel Quarterly (but also from that of Amazon, -9%).
We then ask ourselves about the massive investments of the tech giants inartificial intelligence and on the actual return on these expenses, especially since today the FT is launching the bubble alarm. The financial newspaper quotes Elliott, the largest activist investment fund in the world, which judges the Nvidia stock to be in a "market bubble" and considers AI to be "overvalued". The hedge fund in a letter to clients writes that many alleged applications of the technology "will never work" and that real uses are few" and coincide with simple tasks such as "summarizing meeting notes or generating reports".
Piazza Affari defends itself with utilities
A Milano, in a heavily negative context, utilities moved against the trend. They close on the rise Snam + 2,43% Terna + 2,02% Italgas + 1,81%.
However, the scales tip heavily on the negative side, starting from stm, Azimuth , Saipem, Telecom -5,07%,Iveco -5,07%,.
The banks are all in heavy decline: Unicredit -5% Montepaschi -4,7% Bper -4,59% Understanding -4,41%.
At a European level, the sector has had its worst session since March 2023, when the Credit Suisse crisis emerged and fears for the stability of US banks grew.
According to data from LSEG, European banks lost almost $100 billion in market value in the space of just one week.
In addition, in Italy rumors are being heard about one extra taxation to the study of government (despite some denials). Equita writes that "clearly the indiscretion regarding the desire to once again hit the banks' profits is a disturbing element, which increases the perceived riskiness of the sector".
The spread goes up
Risk aversion also penalizes the Italian card compared to the German one. The spread between ten-year BTPs and Bunds of the same duration it rises to 149 basis points (+4,86%). The yield of the BTP is stable, at 2,64%, while that of the Bund drops to 2,15%.
