EU stock markets rise amid falling oil prices and hopes for peace in Iran
US President Donald Trump has announced the suspension of the attacks, on condition that an ‘agreement is reached swiftly’ with Tehran. On the eve of this announcement, OPEC+ increased oil production for the sixth consecutive time
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(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - The European stock markets have got August off to a good start, following yet another U-turn by President Trump on the conflict in the Middle East. Following Friday’s threats to strike Iran ‘with great force’, and the call for US citizens to ‘consider leaving’ the Middle East due to a possible ‘escalation’ of the regional conflict, the White House occupant then announced on Sunday 2 August on Truth that attacks would be suspended, on condition that “an agreement is reached quickly”. The news eased tensions on the energy markets, where oil prices are falling sharply. On the macroeconomic front, July’s US labour market figures are eagerly awaited this week.
In this context, the FTSE MIB in Milan is up, as are the other indices across Europe. On the stock market, Unipol is leading the way.
Earnings season continues
Meanwhile, the earnings season continues. In the US, more than half of the companies in the S&P 500 have already reported their half-year results, whilst 140 are set to report theirs this week. Among these, attention will continue to focus on the tech sector, including, amongst others, AMD (chips, Tuesday 4th) and SanDisk (flash memory, Wednesday 5th). On Tuesday, it will be the turn of SpaceX, which is currently trading at around 17 per cent below the price recorded during its historic IPO in June. At the same time, the European quarterly results season is really heating up. Several Italian banks are due to report: Banco Bpm and Bper Banca , Banca Monte Paschi Siena ) and other financial institutions (Generali, Allianz , Unipol ).
Oil prices plummet. Yen recovers
As concerns over energy supplies from the Middle East have eased, prices for oil, having closed July with the biggest monthly rise since March. Adding to the geopolitical backdrop is OPEC+, which yesterday increased oil production for the sixth consecutive time. Brent futures maturing in October have thus fallen by over 7% to around $83 per barrel. Gas prices are also down by 5%. In the currency markets, the euro/dollar is trading around 1.15. The yen is recovering, following joint intervention by the United States and Japan in the foreign exchange market to prop up its value.
