Stock exchanges, Europe bets on Iran turnaround, Milan soars (+1.2%) as oil rallies

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Hopes for an improvement in the situation in Iran are pushing the European stocks, with markets remaining alert to any news from the Middle East. US President Donald Trump reiterated earlier in the day that the war "will largely be over in two to three days" and also spoke of meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping being postponed "in five weeks". Supporting the rises in equities during the day, however, was the news of the death of the Iranian security chief, Ali Larijani and the commander of the Basij internal security forces, Gholamreza Soleimani. The markets' gaze also goes to the central banks: on 18 March the Fed and on 19 March the ECB will comment on interest rates, although the consensus does not expect cuts and will look more to indications of the near future. The Fed is 'trapped in a stagflationary spiral', with the oil rally 'threatening both inflation and growth', argues Gordon Shannon of TwentyFour Am. The committee 'will not jeopardise its credibility by cutting rates with rising inflation. That the market is pricing in possible cuts in June says more about investors' estimates of how long the conflict in Iran will last,' adds Shannon, who also says the ECB will maintain 'a patient stance on rates for as long as possible'

In this context, Milan's Ftse Mib ended up 1.22% and wore the pink jersey of the Old Contienent.

Wall Street closed positive. The Dow Jones rose 0.10 per cent to 46,993.26 points, the Nasdaq gained 0.47 per cent to 22,479.53 points, and the S&P 500 advanced 0.25 per cent to 6,716.09 points. Over 400 stocks in the S&P 500 index are up, with the index in positive territory for the second consecutive session. Bond yields fell, along with the dollar, on the eve of the Federal Reserve's decision. Airlines are seeing good rises on the back of increased bookings, with travellers rushing to lock in fares ahead of a potential increase due to fuel costs: runs, for example Delta Air Lines. The Boeing's stock fell, after the company postponed by a year its target to generate positive margins in its main commercial division, as integration costs of newly acquired Spirit Aerosystems weighed on profitability. Qualcommgained ground thanks to the announcement of a $20 billion share buyback and a dividend increase. The share price of Mastercardrose, after the company said it will acquire stablecoin infrastructure startup Bvnk for up to $1.8 billion, four months after negotiations between Bvnk and Coinbase broke down.Eli Lilly & Company , slips after Hsbc issued a bearish assessment on the stock, saying investors' expectations of the weight-loss drug are excessive.

In the Italian Stock Exchange Amplifon (-10.6%) closed sharply lower. Utilities, on the other hand, had a positive day, with A2A (+0.7%) buoyed by its 2025 accounts and the announcement of a 4% higher coupon. Slipping instead were shares in St (-0.4%), despite the announced agreements, with the Italo-French company agreeing to accelerate the development and global adoption of Physical AI systems, including humanoid, industrial, service and healthcare robots, strengthening a partnership with US giant Nvidia. Energy stocks continued to benefit from high crude oil prices and so continued the run of Eni (+3.6%) and Tenaris (+3.6%). Stellantis (+3%) also did well on the back of the strengthening of the joint venture with Leapmotor. Among the banks, Unicredit (-0.5%) closed on a positive note, although it remains under the microscope after the announcement of the public exchange offer to rise above 30% of Commerzbank's capital. A move that was also commented on by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz: "the political opinion of the government is clear: we want to maintain Commerzbank's independence".

Euro-dollar regains 1.15, oil runs