The last week of a dramatic July starts well for the financial markets, which meanwhile take home the de-escalation between the US and Iran, which inevitably causes the price of oil to fall and gives the stock markets some breathing space. On the other hand, in the background, there is always the big question mark of Artificial Intelligence, in the midst of quarterly earnings season for US Big Tech companiesLast week, Alphabet's accounts, and especially Tesla's, failed to convince investors: this week we're relaunching with Microsoft and Meta publishing their financial statements on the night between Wednesday and Thursday in Italy, while the following day it will be the turn of Apple and Amazon.
READ HERE TODAY'S LIVE STOCK MARKET REPORT
Nvidia and Sandisk crash on the Nasdaq
But first, other important information for the stock markets will arrive: this week in fact The Federal Reserve is meeting and could give some indications by Wednesday, and also midweek, important macroeconomic data from the US, such as GDP and inflation, are expected. There will be plenty of cause for concern or excitement, but in the meantime, we're off to a good start: Milan +0,5%, Paris +0,4%, Frankfurt +1,3%, London +0,4%, Dow Jones +0,4%. Bucking the trend, only Amsterdam -0,8%, hit by the collapse of Besi and Asml Holdings, both semiconductor stocks, and the Nasdaq is weak for now -0,3% due to the collapse of Nvidia -5% and Sandisk -12%, penalised - like all chip stocks - by super debut on the stock market from Chinese chipmaker CXMT.
Bitcoin at $65.000, BTP-Bund spread at 83 basis points.
SpaceX also loses 3% on the Nasdaq, while traditional big tech companies are generally floating in positive territory. Bitcoin gains 1% and returns to $65.000 for now.The US dollar, in turn, strengthened against the euro, bringing the exchange rate well below 1,14. On the government bond front, it was not a particularly significant session: the BTP-Bund spread remained at 83 basis points, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year BTP still very close to the 4% threshold.
The best and worst of Piazza Affari
At Piazza Affari, Stm is also inevitably suffering from the difficulties of semiconductors throughout the Western world, but it is not the worst stock: it lost 1,9% at the end, with Prysmian -3,8% and some oil-related stocks doing worse. Eni -2,4%, Tenaris -2,9%, Saipem -1,1%. Keeping the Ftse Mib up, helping it regain 52.000 points, are Ferrari +4,3%, Lottomatica +3,16%, Buzzi +2,8%, Amplifon +2,6%. Luxury goods also do well with Cucinelli +2,4% awaiting LVMH's accounts which are released after the stock markets close. Meanwhile, in Paris, LVMH shares close up 1,1%. Among banks, in Milan, Unicredit is the best-performing, up 1,6%.
Commodities: Oil below $90 a barrel
Finally, oil. Signs of easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have reduced fears of supply disruptions. The United States has suspended attacks against Iran, while Tehran declared that it had halted its retaliatory military operations and had started talks with Oman regarding the Strait of Hormuz. Also noteworthy is the resumption of crude oil loading operations at the terminal of Caspian Pipeline Consortium, on Russia's Black Sea coast, a major export hub for Kazakh oil that had recently been hit by Ukrainian drone attacks.
Today, Brent crude is trading just below $90 a barrel, and WTI crude oil is at $83 a barrel. European natural gas is also deflating, dropping significantly below €60 per megawatt-hour, to around €58. Consequently, following a fairly well-established pattern, gold and silver regain strengthToday, the former is worth nearly $4.100 an ounce, while the latter is approaching $59 an ounce. Platinum is up 2%, palladium is up 4%.
