Le European stock exchanges they have opened down today, reflecting investor caution after a week already marked by geopolitical tensions and volatility in global markets. Caution comes especially from United States e Asia: the FTSE Eb of Milan opens at 45.459,28 points (-0,22%) but then reverses course and moves above parity, Paris loses 0,16%, Madrid 0,29% and London 0,37%, while Frankfurt remains stable (+0,12%), supported by positive data on German industrial orders. In November, factories recorded an increase of 5,6% on a monthly basis and 10,5% on an annual basis, well above analysts' expectations. In the background, tensions related to the Greenland, seizure on the part of the USA of two tankers, one of which flies the Russian flag, and the announcement by the president Donald Trump on '50% increase in the military budget by 2027 they will maintain high vigilance on the price lists, favoring purchases of defense stocks.
Attention on the front macroeconomic remains high, with markets awaiting US data on productivity and the cost of living. work of the third quarter, the October trade deficit and initial jobless claims. International caution is also reflected in currency and commodity markets: theeuro remains stable at 1,1679 dollars and 182,91 yen, while the dollar/yen cross falls to 156,6. Gold falls 0,43% to $4.436/ounce and silver falls 2,7%, under pressure from the strength of the dollar, while the Petroleum shows signs of recovery with Brent at $60,23 a barrel (+0,45%) and WTI at $56,29 a barrel (+0,54%), with investors still focused on the possible implications of Venezuelan exports.
At Piazza Affari, all eyes are on banks, energy, and defense.
In Milan, the spotlight is on banks, energy, defense, and industry. In the banking sector, Unicredit(-0,31%) remains under observation for the changes to the Golden Power, which will limit the State's intervention to the issuance of securities of national importance, while the bank's appeal to the Council of State regarding the blocked takeover bid for Banco BPM remains in place. On the defense front, purchases continue on Leonardo(+3,28%), supported by the announcement by US President Donald Trump of a 50% increase in military spending by 2027, with positive effects also on Fincantieri (+ 1,86%) and Avio (+ 2,95%).
In the utilities sector, Enel (+0,24%) confirms investors' confidence with the placement of perpetual hybrid bonds for 2 billion euros, accepted with requests seven times higher than the offer, while Italgas (+2,22%) marks new historical highs, supported by the placement of green bonds by Snam(+0,17%) of 500 million, convertible into company shares. Eni advances by 0,20%, following the trend of oil which is slightly recovering after two days of declines.
In the insurance sector, Generali (-0,11%) issued a €650 million Tier 2 bond, with orders exceeding €2,6 billion, raised from approximately 135 international investors; settlement is expected on January 14, 2026, with listing on the Professional Segment of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and on Euronext Access Milan Professional.
Tim (+0,5%) remains under observation after the previous day's jump linked to the preliminary agreement with Fastweb and Vodafone for the development of 5G.
On the corporate shareholding front, Pirelli (-0,39%) is negotiating with its Chinese partner Sinochem to reduce its share from 34% to 10%, a strategic move to maintain access to the US market without compromising corporate control, while being excluded from the main stock exchange. Danieli (+4,15%) has signed contracts worth 650 million dollars as a “technological partner” with Hyundai for the construction of a new green plant in Louisiana.
Among other blue chips, stm (+ 0,61%), Terna (+ 0,32%), Hera (+ 0,14%) and Poste Italiane (+0,31%) record modest increases, while among the decreases stand out Stellantis (-1,42%), Amplifon (-1,39%), Azimuth (-1,15%), BRUNELLO CUCINELLI (-1,09%), Classic Ferrari for sale (-1,04%), Ps (-0,79%), Buzzi (-0,77%), Banca Mediolanum(-0,76%), Inwit (-0,70%) And Finecobank (-0,58%).
Lo spread The spread between BTPs and Bunds remained stable at 70 basis points at the opening, in line with yesterday's close. The yield on the 10-year BTP rose slightly to 3,52% from 3,51%, confirming the gradual slowdown from the peaks of 3,60% at the beginning of the year.
Wall Street: Dow and Nasdaq clash, Alphabet overtakes Apple
Wednesday at Wall Street The session ended with mixed results: the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0,94% to 48.996 points, after reaching an all-time high of 49.621, while the S&P 500 fell 0,34% to 6.921. The Nasdaq closed slightly higher (+0,16% to 23.584), buoyed by technology stocks.
The overtaking of stands out A su Apple in market capitalization, an event that hasn't occurred since 2019: Google's parent company reached $3,88 trillion, while Apple closed at $3,84 trillion. Analysts interpret this change in leadership as a sign of different strategies in the field of artificial intelligence, with Alphabet more aggressive and advanced than Cupertino. Instead, the decision JP Morgan to sever ties with proxy advisory firms has penalised the bank's stock, while Mobileye announced the acquisition of the startup Mentee Robotics, with positive effects also on Intel's stock.
From a macroeconomic point of view, the job data showed mixed signals: job vacancies in November fell below expectations, while private sector job creation, according to the ADP report, was lower than forecast. Offsetting the weakness in the labor market was the ISM services index, which rose above expectations and indicated a still-solid tertiary sector.
Asian stocks: Tokyo and Hong Kong in the red, Kospi hits record highs
Asian markets largely followed Wall Street's weakness, penalized by geopolitical winds from Venezuela and Greenland and rising tensions between China and Japan. Investors preferred to lock in profits by selling technology and financial stocks.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost 1,6%, hit hardest by technology and financial stocks such as Tokyo electron (-2,8%) And Softbank (-2,4%). Concerns over China's export controls on military products destined for Japan are worsening sentiment.
In China, the index CSI300 gave up 0,5% and the Hang Seng 1,1%, but positive signs are emerging from technology and biomedical companies. Iluvatar CoreX Semiconductor rises 11% after raising $472,6 million, and Shenzhen Edge Medical It's up 30% thanks to €1,2 billion raised. Brilliant! debut for Zhipu, a Chinese AI startup, raised $558 million in Hong Kong, earning a 10% stake in the IPO and valuing it at $4,3 billion. The company will invest 70% of the proceeds in research and development of generalist AI models.
In South Korea, in contrast to the rest of the region, the Kospi scored a new historical record, driven by the extraordinary results of Samsung Electronics, with quarterly operating profit tripling to 20 trillion won and revenue growing 23% to 93 trillion won.
