European and US stock markets close the week on a positive note, although there is no shortage of worrying elements. On this Friday, September 11, in the 25th anniversary of the attack on the Twin Towers in New York, the driver is however above all the fall in the price of oil, with Brent remaining above 100 dollars a barrel but losing more than 2% to around 105 dollars from almost 108 dollars yesterday, while WTI Crude Oil in New York remains very close to but just below the 100 mark. Crude oil remains up almost 9% compared to the beginning of the week., as investors weighed diplomatic efforts to ease tensions around the Strait of Hormuz against the ongoing clashes in the Middle East.
Commodities: Oil still above $100, gas below €80
Gulf foreign ministers are expected to meet their Iranian counterparts in Oman on Monday, as part of talks to secure support for a temporary agreement to manage maritime traffic through the strategic strait. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has drastically revised downwards its forecast for oil demand, forecasting a contraction of 2,5 million barrels per day in 2026, the largest annual decline since the start of the Covid pandemic. European natural gas prices fell back below 80 euros per megawatt-hour, but remain at very high levels, equal to those of mid-December 2022. Both gold and silver are up slightly, by around 1%.The former wants to regain $4.400 an ounce, while the latter is currently worth $64. Copper is normalizing at around $6,5 per pound.
How European stock markets are closing and how Wall Street is doing
The easing of pressure on oil is allowing stocks to breathe: Milan +1,36%, Paris +0,8%, London +0,4%, Frankfurt +0,8%, Dow Jones +1%, S&P 500 +1%, Nasdaq +1,2%. The US dollar strengthens again against the euro, bringing the exchange rate to 1,160. Bitcoin stable around $77.000The BTP-Bund spread closed at around 86 basis points, with a yield of 4,3%. Government bonds in general, however, continue to be a source of concern: the US 10-year T-Bond remains under observation, having actually touched 5% today, reaching a yield of 4,98%, before subsequently stabilizing very close to the threshold, around 4,95%. The rate reached today is the highest since October 31, 2023Behind these movements of Treasuries there is always the fear of an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve: the market is pricing in around 87–90% of probability of a 25 bp increase as early as next week's meeting.
Apple is doing well on Wall Street after the foldable iPhone launch. Moderna is soaring.
The Nasdaq is enjoying a strong session: the composite index is up more than 1% as of 17:30 PM Italian time, while the Top 100 index is up about 1% at the same time. Among the most traded stocks today is Apple up 3% after iPhone Duo unveiledApple's first foldable smartphone, sold for $1.999. The market is interpreting the new product as the potential start of a new upgrade cycle. Semiconductors are also seeing significant movement: Sandisk -3,6%, Nvidia +1%, Marvell +4%, Cisco +3,5%, Qualcomm +3,5%, Intel +3%. Among traditional tech giants, in addition to Apple, Google is also performing well, up 2,7%. SpaceX bucks the trend, dropping 1%., while still in the Musk galaxy Tesla advances by 0,7%. Oracle rises to 154 dollars per share after the quarterly report published yesterday evening. Moderna's golden moment continues after the very positive results of the personalized mRNA vaccine against melanoma: today +9%.
Here are the best and worst stocks on the Milan Stock Exchange
At Piazza Affari, oil suffered somewhat due to the decline in crude oil prices (Eni -0,23%, Saipem -1,2%), but otherwise, many FTSE MIB stocks closed with significant gains. In particular, as a sector, banks: Intesa Sanpaolo +2,55% after Goldman Sachs raised its target price to 7,80 euros per share, confirming its “Buy” rating, Mps +2,46%, Mediobanca +2,4%, Unicredit +1,6% after green light from the assembly to the capital increase for the Commerzbank operation. The industrial sector also performed well, with Avio up 3,9% and Prysmian up 3%. The luxury sector also performed well, with Moncler up 2,5%. Worth noting are the trading volumes of Poste Italiane +1,9% and Telecom Italia +1,8%. after the first improved its offer by providing for a reopening of the terms for participation in the offer, which initially expired today, from September 21st to 25th.
