A sleepy Friday turned into a sleepy Friday in minutes Black Friday in Europe and the USA, after Wall Street reversed course, plunging stock markets back into the nightmare of tariffs. Fear was sparked by President Donald Trump's comments that he is considering "a massive increase in tariffs" on Chinese imports. European stock markets closed the session in deep red, with the auto and luxury sectors alarmed by the news and after a weak morning, already impacted by declines in defense stocks, due to profit-taking on the prospect of peace in Gaza. The possibility of a new equilibrium in the Middle East is also weighing on oil and, consequently, oil stocks.
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Piazza Affari loses 1,74% and rewinds the tape to 42.047 basis points, with investors focusing their purchases on utilities and choosing to sell Stellantis -7,27%, Tenaris -5,22%, Leonardo -4,69%, Cucinelli -4,49%. Elsewhere on the continent, Paris slipped -1,53%, at the end of a difficult week and as investors await President Emmanuel Macron's announcement of who he intends to appoint again for a government attempt, following Sébastien Lecornu's brief stint. Frankfurt and Amsterdam are sharply down -1,71% and -1,87%. London is down 0,87% and Madrid is down 0,83%.
Wall Street, tech stocks plummet
The weather has cooled down again in New York After the first few hours of trading, the DJI is down 0,9%, the S&P 500 is down 1,2%, and the Nasdaq is down 1,74%. Amid the gloom surrounding the job data, caused by the partial shutdown of government activities, investors fear a new trade war between Washington and Beijing, which could put dangerous reins on the economy. Nvidia, the flagship AI stock, after a strong start, is now down 1,73%.
Meanwhile US consumer confidence remains stable In October, inflation exceeded estimates but declined slightly. The preliminary reading of the University of Michigan's monthly consumer confidence index was 55 points, compared to 55,1 the previous month and expectations of 54. The component measuring future expectations rose to 51,2 from 51,7 the previous month. The component measuring the current situation rose to 61 from 60,4. Regarding inflation, one-year inflation expectations fell from 4,7% to 4,6%; five-year inflation expectations fell from 3,7% to 3,6%.
To take the pulse of the economy, markets are waiting for the start of earnings season next week and are betting on a further rate cut by the Fed at the end of the month. However, the mega tech companies remain suspended between bid and ask and the AI symbol, Nvidia, which initially showed gains of more than 1,5%, is currently down 0,26%.
Meanwhile, the United States is cashing in on the diplomatic success between Hamas and Israel, in which President Donald Trump played a central role. The tycoon's commitment, however, he was not crowned with the Nobel Prize, that it went instead to Maria Corina Machado, opposition leader in Venezuela. A choice "that puts politics before peace," according to the White House, which has not hidden its disappointment with the Swedish Academy's decision.
Oil prices plunge sharply. WTI prices fall below $60.
Oil prices are falling again, after yesterday's 1,5% loss. These declines are eroding the risk premium in the Middle East region, after the agreement between Israel and Hamas on the first phase of the plan to end the war in Gaza. The duration of the partial US government shutdown is beginning to be viewed with some concern, fearing that the US economy could suffer, and in turn, demand for crude oil from the world's largest consumer. Furthermore, the US president's statement is doing the rest.
Brent and WTI futures are currently down more than 3%, at $63,18 a barrel and $59,39, respectively. Gold, after reversing its decline to below $4000 in both spot and futures contracts, is currently recovering slightly and hovering around that level. On the currency market, the dollar is falling again, after hitting a two-month high yesterday. The euro is trading above 1,16.
Piazza Affari: Only utilities shine, Avio plunges
There are only six positive blue chips on the Milan Stock Exchange, all of them utilities: Italgas +1,36%, Snam +0,86%, Enel +0,75%, Terna +0,71%, Hera +0,1%. The rest is all in redStellantis, buoyant this morning thanks to a positive update to its third-quarter car delivery estimates, is the worst performing stock. Ferrari fails to rebound and falls 2,77% after its slide the day before. Oil companies are down: Tenaris, Saipem -4,04%, luxury, industrial, and tech.
Banks are weak, despite the fact that the Italian risk game could reignite if the European Commission, as it seems, acts against the Italian legislation on 'golden power' and by mid-November asks the Italian government to withdraw the decree relating to the takeover bid by Unicredit (-1,75%) on Banco Bpm (-2,09%), which then led the institute led by Andrea Orcel to withdraw the offer last July.
Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti But he doesn't accept this and makes it a security issue. "National, financial, and economic security," he says, "is the exclusive responsibility of the nation state, and we intend to defend it somehow." Meanwhile, the government has scheduled a meeting on the budget for Tuesday.
Out of the main basket Cementir shines today too, up 2,85%, the main candidate for participation in the reconstruction of Gaza. Avio, which had repeatedly refreshed its highs in recent trading sessions, plunged, down 13,34%.
Spreads rise and rates fall; S&P's rating tonight
The Italian paper waits with relative tranquility S&P's rating upgrade which will arrive this evening. At the end of the session, the spread between BTPs and Bunds, both with a maturity of 10 years, widened to 85 basis points, with rates falling to 3,49% and 2,64%, respectively.
