A week that started off tense, with the start of a trade war by US President Donald Trump, first imposing tariffs on Mexico and Canada and then suspending them, is ending with much more relaxed tones. Attention has returned to the rate outlook and today the key data on US labor market will give indications on the next moves of the Fed. Focus on actions Actions of Amazon whose revenues beat estimates, while cloud computing disappoints. In Asia it shines Hong Kong on its way to posting its best weekly performance in four months, while the yen hit a two-month high, on rising odds of further rate hikes in Japan this year. Gold held close to its record high. At Piazza Affari, focus on the latest move in the banking game: the hand is in Bper on Popular of Sondrio
Wall Street closes at 2 speeds. Amazon dominates after hours
US stocks were mixed and unconvincing. In New York, the dow Jones, which falls to 44.748 points, with a percentage gap of 0,28%, while the S&P-500 is slightly up, reaching 6.084 points. The Nasdaq 100 (+0,54%) is fractionally up, as is the S&P 100 (+0,47%) just above parity.
Last night, after the close of trading on Wall Street, Amazon reported that its fourth-quarter net profit nearly doubled. The giant reached $20 billion, thanks to strong sales for the holiday season. However, the outlook for the next quarter was lower than expected. The company led by CEO Andy Jassy reported net revenue of $2024 billion in 637,959, an increase of 11% compared to 2023, thanks to growth in key segments and in the intelligent cloud, especially with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Jassy highlighted innovations, such as the new chip of artificial intelligence “Trainium 2” and the Amazon Q generative AI assistant dedicated to businesses. shares fell more than 3% in after-hours trading, also due to the indications on investments in AI.
Il Ford Group announced its quarterly results and said that steep losses in its electric car business will impact its earnings this year.
Today on the agenda is the 'highly anticipated report on'January occupation, with data likely to show the impact of wildfires in California and cold weather across much of the country. The number of nonfarm jobs is expected to have risen by 170.000 last month, following a 256.000 gain in December, according to a Reuters poll of economists.
Hong Kong Takes Flight Led by Tech
In Asian trading it is Hong Kong to dominate the scene, heading towards closing the best weekly performance in 4 months driven by technology. TheHang Seng Tech Index Hong Kong's stocks gain about 2,5%, taking the rise from January's lows to over 20%, the threshold that according to the statistical approach decrees theentering the Taurus phase. In this price list, Lenovo up 9%: the stock is about to close the week with a 34% increase. The Beijing-based company announced in recent days the marketing of a range of computers, tablets and mobile phones that will incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) models of DeepSeek. Another of the Chinese tech giants, Xiaomi, is up 5% in Hong Kong. Founder Lei Jun wrote in X that it will ramp up production of the SUV sedan launched last year to great acclaim, without compromising quality or safety. The shares are at an all-time high, having more than tripled (+234%) in value in the past 7 months, buoyed not only by the success of the SUXNUMX index, but also by the forecast. Investors are betting that the local startup's advance in artificial intelligence DeepSeek will lead to a boom in the sector, ignoring for now the trade war saga that erupted earlier this week, as there is little news on if and when Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet. Investors are focusing on the broader economic picture and corporate earnings, even as they know that a social media post could change everything.
The stock markets of Japan, South Korea and India are slightly down: Nikkei Tokyo -0,5%, KOSPI Seoul -9,4%, BSE Sensex Mumbai, -0,2%. The Reserve Bank of India cut interest rates for the first time in nearly five years, a boost for an economy slowing as global risks intensify.
Dollar stops rally, gold nears record high
On the currency market, the dollar, which had dominated since Trump took office, is back in the fold. The dollar index, which measures the dollar against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, is little changed at 107,7, with the euro stopped at $1,0386. This week it yen Japanese yen traded positively, supported by safe-haven flows and rising expectations of a Bank of Japan interest rate hike this year, with markets pricing in 34 basis points of increases for the year. The yen hit 150,96 per dollar in early trading, its highest level since December 10 at 151,65. The currency is set to rise more than 2% against the dollar this week, its strongest weekly performance since late November. GBP held steady at $1,2434 after falling 0,5% on Thursday, as the BoE cut interest rates by 25 basis points but warned it would be cautious going forward, facing a potential rise in inflation and geopolitical concerns.
The prices of Petroleum rose marginally in early Asian trading, but are on track for a third straight week of decline. Prices on Friday Of their stabilized near record levels and were on track for a sixth consecutive weekly gain, driven by a flight to safety and risk aversion.
European stock markets: new game of banking risk with Bper and Sondrio
After yesterday's sparkling session, European stocks could benefit today: they are expected to decline based on the -0,26% of the Eurostoxx50 future. Yesterday, the pan-European STOXX 600 index closed at a record high, up 8% since the start of 2025, while the benchmark indices in Germany and France are up around 10%. The S&P 500 is up 3% in the same period. Watch out for the new move in the game of bank risk: the oops of Bper on the Sondrio Popular Bank
B for Bank he proposed a last nightpublic exchange offer voluntary on all ordinary shares of Banca Popolare di Sondrio for a consideration of 4,3 billion. The target's shares are valued at an implicit price of 9,53 euros compared to the current 9,27 euros. The offer "is aimed at acquiring at least a stake greater than 50% of the share capital" says Bpe, so as to have control. In any case, the Modena-based institute led by Gianni Franco Papa reserves the right to partially waive this condition provided that the stake acquired, at the end of the offer, is greater than 35% of the share capital of the issuer. If 90% is exceeded, the aim is to delist the Valtellina institute. Both the offeror and the target bank have a relative majority shareholder Unipol which is also an insurance partner that may have been the director of the operation together with Bper. The objective of the president of the Bologna-based company Carlo Cimbri is to build a banking hub around the Modena-Bologna axis. Bper offers 1,45 ordinary shares for each Popolare di Sondrio share with a premium of 6,6% compared to the official price of Banca Popolare di Sondrio on 5 February 2025 and 10,3% compared to the weighted average of the last three months.
Banca Popolare di Sondrio increased its payout ratio to 63% after closing 2024 with a record net profit of 574,9 million. It will therefore propose a dividend of 80 cents, up more than 40% from the 56 cents distributed for the 2023 financial year.
Generali According to four sources close to the dossier, Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, who controls 6,9% of the Trieste-based group, is considering opposing the reappointment of CEO Philippe Donnet. Among the candidates being considered by Caltagirone are the CEOs of Enel and Poste.
believe closed the 2024 financial year with a net profit of 620 million, up 10,3% on the previous financial year and will propose the distribution of a dividend of 75 cents, an improvement of 15,4% compared to the coupon paid in 2023.
Iliad is pushing for the consolidation of the Italian telecommunications market. According to rumors reported by Il Corriere della Sera, emissaries of the French operator met in recent days with senior executives of the Ministry of Economy, which did not confirm. In the meeting, Iliad also raised the need for aggregations between operators to put an end to the price war and, thus, encourage investments in networks and services.
Enel. Potentia Energy, a subsidiary of Enel Green Power, will acquire from Cvc Did and Cbus Super a portfolio of over 1 GW of renewable assets across Australia, in the luxury sector and Safilo which has renewed its production and distribution agreement with Dsquared until December 2031.
Iveco closed 2024 with a contraction in consolidated revenues to 15,29 billion euros. Buzzi is also awaiting the test of the preliminary accounts for 2024.
