The medicine for the numerous wounds inflicted by Trump's tariffs it's now the negotiations to mitigate them. And the news that the China I'm thinking about a agreement with the United States It was the best medicine for stock markets today, while the Japan reminded Washington in talks how high its holdings of US Treasuries are. Yesterday Wall Street rejoiced over the positive data that exceeded expectations Meta e Microsoft, while then in the after-hours the collapse of Apple and AmazonAsian stocks surged to their highest level in more than a month this morning, S&P 500 futures rose and European stocks were bracing for a positive opening ahead of a flurry of corporate data, particularly from the oil giant. shell and the German chemical group Basf.
The balancing act of negotiations: China and Japan in the spotlight
At this moment it is the negotiations is setting the pace in the markets and every word is being weighed. China's Ministry of Commerce said Beijing was "considering" Washington's offer to discuss the 145 percent tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, adding that Beijing's door was open for dialogue. However, China, which responded with new 125 percent tariffs on US imports, stressed that Washington must demonstrate "sincerity" in negotiations and should be ready to cancel its unilateral tariffs. "If the United States wants to have a dialogue, it should demonstrate its sincerity, be ready to correct its wrong practices and cancel unilateral tariffs, and take action," the Ministry of Commerce said. "In any possible dialogue or talks, if the United States does not correct its wrong unilateral tariff measures, it simply means that it is completely insincere and will further damage the mutual trust between the two sides," it added.
As regards the Japan, Tokyo's envoy for the U.S. tariff talks in Washington said the second round of negotiations between the two countries were "frank and constructive." "We were able to hold concrete discussions, for example, on expanding trade between our two countries, on non-tariff measures, and on economic and security cooperation," Ryosei Akazawa told reporters after the talks.
But the balance remains precarious until there are concrete steps, analysts say. And that was especially evident when Japan's finance minister said this morning that the country could use its US Treasury Securities, which amount to more than a trillion dollars, as trump card in trade talks with Washington, explicitly raising for the first time its position as a major creditor of the United States.
Wall Street Driven by Microsoft and Meta Success
US stocks edged higher yesterday, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 posting eighth consecutive session of gains after better-than-expected results from megacaps Microsoft and Meta eased concerns about artificial intelligence spending. Microsoft jumped 7,6% and closed at its highest level since late January, led by a positive quarterly growth forecast for its Azure cloud computing business. The gains briefly pushed Microsoft above Apple to become the world's most valuable company. Meta rose 4,2% and closed at its highest since April 9, after posting better-than-expected revenue on a solid advertising performance.
Il Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0,21% yesterday to 40.752,96, the S&P 500 gained 0,63% to 5.604,14 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1,52% to 17.710,74. The fallout from frequent changes in U.S. trade policy has so far dented a solid earnings season, with many companies cutting or withdrawing their profit forecasts. The S&P 500's first-quarter earnings are expected to rise 12,9% year-over-year, according to LSEG data.
After the bell rang to close US trading yesterday, Amazon.com instead fell nearly 4% after its accounts showed slowing growth in its cloud unit. Shares Apple They alternated modest gains and losses before closing up 0,4% after a federal judge ruled that the iPhone maker had violated a U.S. court order to overhaul its App Store. Apple cut its stock buyback program by $10 billion and warned that tariffs could add about $900 million in costs this quarter. CEO Tim Cook also said the iPhone maker has begun stockpiling products so that the majority of devices sold in the U.S. this quarter won’t come from China.
On the side of economic data The picture is mixed. Weekly jobless claims showed layoffs rising more than expected this week, potentially suggesting an acceleration of job cuts following the tariffs. The monthly data on job market. ISM PMI data showed a further contraction in manufacturing sector in April, though slightly below expectations of economists polled by Reuters. Input prices rose.
To report that Eli Lilly reported better-than-expected quarterly results, but shares fell 11,7% after CVS Health decided to remove Lilly's obesity drug Zepbound from some reimbursable drug lists. healthcare sector collapsed by 2,8%, recording the worst performance of yesterday's session. Also McDonald's reported its financial results and shares fell 1,9% due to an unexpected decline in global sales in the first quarter.
Asian stocks rise with tech from Hong Kong and Taipei
China's willingness to start a tariff negotiation with the United States sends Asia Pacific stocks higher. China's financial market is closed today.
The index MSCI Asia-Pacific gains 0,8%. The stock exchange Tokyo rises, Nikkei index up 1%, up 5% for the week. Yesterday the Bank of Japan said it would take longer to reach its inflation target, a comment that dampens expectations of further interest rate hikes over the coming months. The central bank said it expects inflation to be consistent with its 2% target around the second half of its forecast period, which it extended by a year to include fiscal 2027. The bank halved its economic growth forecast to 0,5% for the current fiscal year.
The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong is up 1,8%, a change that should bring it to the third consecutive week with a positive sign. TheHang Seng Tech up 3,2%: from the lows since April 7, the rebound is almost 20%. The title of the day is Xiaomi, up 5%. The company reported its electric car sales data for April. Alibaba Group +3%.
The Taiwan Stock Exchange's Taiex index is up 2,2%, bringing its weekly balance to +6%. The Taiwan Stock Exchange Alone rises by +0,4%, +1,7% per week.
Europe, Leonardo's eyes on Piazza Affari
European stock markets expected to open higher: Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 1%.
Leonardo DRS, Leonardo's U.S. subsidiary, reported adjusted quarterly earnings of 20 cents per share in the first quarter, up from 14 cents a year ago.
Amplifon. GN Store Nord, a Danish chain of stores that sells, among other things, hearing aids, has lowered its forecast for 2025 in the wake of the U.S. tariffs.
Mediobanca. Generali. Delfin Chairman Francesco Milleri expressed appreciation for the efforts made by Mediobanca CEO Alberto Nagel to “change the role of the bank”. On the vote on June 16, Milleri explained: “we are missing a piece of information. When we have it, we will vote and our vote will always be in support of the companies, the management and the industrial plan that brings value”. The operation for Delfin, which is also a shareholder of Generali, must have “neither winners nor losers” while as a shareholder of MPS, Delfin believes that there is no conflict between the project of Siena CEO Luigi Lovaglio and the takeover bid for Banca Generali. The exchange offer launched by Mediobanca on Banca Generali to be paid with Generali shares, may have to be examined by the shareholders’ meeting of Generali, he wrote yesterday Il Sole 24 Ore adding that lawyers are working on the matter.
Stellantis – Citi cuts target price. The company is adjusting production at its Windsor, Ontario, Canadian assembly plant to complete the build of 2025 vehicle models, the group said yesterday, adding that the plant will close the week of May 5, as anticipated by local press reports.
StM rejected a new attempt by the Italian government to appoint its own candidate to the supervisory board, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The chipmaker will cut about 1.000 jobs in France, equivalent to 9 percent of its workforce in the country and more than a third of the 2.800 layoffs planned under its cost-cutting plan, the Italian-French chipmaker said, adding that talks with Italian unions were ongoing.
Tenaris closed the first quarter with revenues down 15% year-over-year to $2,92 billion, slightly better than expected thanks to volumes, while mix was a negative factor. Operating income fell 32% to $550 million. The second quarter is expected to close with a slight increase in revenues, with stable margins. During the presentation, the company said that in the second half of the year, if oil remains at these levels, there could be a slowdown in demand for specialty pipes in the United States.
Unipol. Berenberg raises target price.
