Stock markets: Europe rises despite the US-Iran escalation. Tech shares are back in favour, with St surging
Oil and gas prices remain largely unchanged, though supply concerns persist. The spread has fallen slightly to 80 points. The euro is gaining ground against the dollar
Le ultime da Radiocor
Borsa: l'Europa rimbalza con la spinta dei tech, a Milano (+0,8%) svetta St
*** BTp: spread con Bund apre in lieve calo a 80 punti, rendimento al 3,87%
***Borsa Tokyo: dopo calo di ieri rimbalza e chiude in rialzo dell'1,38%
(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - European stock markets opened higher in the first part of the session European stock markets on the day following a session marked by renewed tensions in Iran and a Fed that appears divided on the direction to take and concerned about inflationary risks, whilst oil, after the previous day’s surge, has edged back slightly. Tension on the markets is therefore easing, with the rebound in tech shares leading the recovery of European indices. Thus, the FTSE MIB in Milan, the CAC 40 in Paris, the DAX 40 in Frankfurt, the IBEX 35 in Madrid, the AEX in Amsterdam and the FTSE 100 in London.
However, the overall situation remains highly uncertain. Overnight, the United States launched a series of new attacks, and Tehran has stated that the Strait of Hormuz will only be opened in accordance with Iranian terms. This escalation was accompanied by fresh statements from US President Donald Trump overnight: the US president maintained the threatening tone of the previous day, whilst stating that he “does not believe” the war will resume. “It will be over very quickly,” he added.
Fears over inflation remain high, which are a cause for concern for the Federal Reserve, as yesterday’s minutes from the latest meeting showed, reopening the possibility of a tightening of monetary policy as early as October. The dollar is weakening, with the euro rising to 1.1446. In the equity market, tech shares remain in the spotlight, following the loss of momentum that triggered Samsung’s slump, as do defence stocks, which had a tough session yesterday. The market is also beginning to look ahead to the start of the earnings season: PepsiCo will provide an early indication today, whilst next week will see the main event with the major US banks.
St gains momentum, Prysmian also performs well, defence shares fall
Semiconductor shares are leading the rally, following the slump at the start of the week; they are already performing well in Japan and are riding the wave of Wednesday’s rebound on the Nasdaq. In Milan, the top gainers are Stmicroelectronics and Prysmian , which is increasingly in line with the sector. The Milan Stock Exchange is also seeing support from the banking sector, with Mediobanca leading the way, alongside Unicredit , Banca Monte Paschi Siena and Intesa Sanpaolo are all up by more than one point, with other banks also showing solid gains. Weakness is concentrated in utilities and energy, but the defence sector is also losing ground again: bringing up the rear are Avio and Leonardo, holds Fincantieri at par.
Supply concerns, but oil and gas prices remain largely unchanged
Fears of supply disruptions in the Middle East are flaring up once again, as US attacks against Iran continue and the Kuwaiti army has announced that it has repelled “hostile missile and drone attacks” after the Iranian Revolutionary Guards vowed to retaliate against US air strikes on the Islamic Republic. All this has driven up oil prices, which had risen by a further 1 per cent overnight, before the pace of the rise slowed.
At present, both Brent (-0.01% at $78 per barrel) and WTI (-0.08% at $73.46) are trading around the break-even point. Natural gas prices traded in Amsterdam are also falling, following the rises recorded in after-hours trading: August-expiry contracts, having initially reached 49.475 euros per megawatt-hour, are now down 2.22% at 47.93 euros.
