Heart-pounding day today on the markets, still overwhelmed by the cyclone of dutiesecided by the White House last week and the chaos that followed. European stock markets closed in the red, although partially recovering from the depths reached earlier in the day when, after three hours of trading, they lost 890 billion dollars. Providing a breath of fresh air for a few moments was the voice of a 90 day truce on US customs duties, but then it arrived the dry denial of President Donald Trump. In this pandemonium and in these minutes the extraordinary closed-door meeting of the Fed on rates, but the outcome will be made known only at the end of the meeting on the website of the US central bank. In the meantime Ursula Von Der Leyen, for the EU, proposes to the tycoon "zero tariffs for industrial goods" for both parties.
Another Black Day in Europe, Very Black in Asia. Volatile Wall Street
In this context Business Square loses 5,18% and retreats to 32.853 basis points, but had even lost 7% in the morning. The panic selling was briefly calmed by press reports on a possible suspension (90 days) of customs duties for all countries except the China (on which Donald Trump actually intends to double down). The source was attributed to an authoritative source, namely Kevin Hassett, Trump's main economic advisor, but the president's denial arrived shortly after.
The Milan stock market is once again the worst and sees all the blue chips in the red. The stocks suffering the most are those of utilities, after the sector had defended the Ftse Mib in the other days of rainy sales.
In the rest of Europe these are dark times for Frankfurt -4,19% Paris -4,78% London -4,48% Amsterdam -4,76% Madrid -5,11%.
wall street, keeps the Bear at bay in these hours and shows more contained declines (DJ -1,88%, S&P500 -1,38%, Nasdaq -1,08%), but after a scary start it had even turned positive. President Trump continues to defend the duties as “medicine” necessary to rebalance the US trade balance, of course hoping that the cure does not kill the patient. The most powerful man in the world on Truth invites his fellow citizens to resist: "The United States - he writes - has the opportunity to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO. Don't be weak! Don't be stupid! Don't panic! Be strong, courageous and patient and GREATNESS will be the result!".
Goldman Sachs but further raised the probability of a U.S. recession to 45% in the next 12 months.
The highest price paid today (for now) was paid byAsia, which had not yet reacted to Chinese countermeasures (34% tariffs on US goods). Hong Kong, -13,22%, experienced its worst session since the 1997 financial crisis; Tokyo lost 7,83%.
Globally Bloomberg estimates that in just three days, $9.500 trillion was burned on global markets.
Rising dollar
On the foreign exchange market the dollar appears to be recovering today against all major currencies. Theeuro loses about 0,4%, for an exchange rate of 1,09. Among raw materials, the realizations penalize thegold, which sees losses of more than 1%, but maintains a price above 3000 dollars an ounce.
Il Petroleum goes down again today, alarmed by the effects of duties on growth and demand for crude oil. The Brent June 2025 future is trading at 69,94 dollars a barrel (-0,98%) and Wti, delivery May 2025, is priced at 61,41 dollars a barrel (-0,94%).
Piazza Affari, storm on utilities
The main list of Piazza Affari is past in negative (-3,9%) since the beginning of the year, after having gained around 10% before the US “day of liberation”, with the duties announced on April 2.
The sector most affected by sales today is that of utilities, which are also looking at the rise in government bond yields: A2a -8,54% Enel -7,57% Hera -7,49%.
Healthcare stocks have come into focus today, after having contained the damage last week: Recordati -8,47% Amplifon -6,37%.
Among oil stocks, the balance sheet is heavy Eni -7,72%, while in fashion Moncler -7,06% is the worst. A day to forget for Inwit -6,98% Ferrari -6,58% Interpump -6,5%.
Banks, the barometer of the Milan stock exchange, are in sharp decline and the sector, at a European level, is now in bear territory with a loss of about 20% from the highs reached this year. The big ones are retreating Intesa Sanpaolo -5,56% and Unicredit -2,77%. Profit taking continues on Leonardo -3,32%.
Stable spread and rising rates
Lo spread between 10-year BTPs and Bunds of the same duration, the gap appears stable at 120 basis points and the yield of the Italian bond reaches 3,86% against the 2,65% of the German one.
