Stock exchanges rekindle with US inflation and Micron's accounts. In Milan (+0.8%) final rush of Leonardo

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - The European stocks finished higher, boosted by the surprisingly lower than expected annual US inflation - down from 3% to 2.7%, more than expected at 3.1% - and by the trend in tech which exorcised the ghosts of an AI bubble. In the background are the decisions of the ECB and the Bank of England, which did not surprise the markets. The former opted for a no-go on interest rates, while the latter made a cut in the cost of money (-25 basis points, reference to 3.75%). On Friday, then, the Bank of Japan could raise the cost of money to the highest in thirty years. Thus, the Ftse Mib of Milan closed at +0.8%. In the rest of Europe, Paris +0.8%, Frankfurt +1%, Amsterdam +1.1% and Madrid +1.1%, while London posted +0.6%.

Wall Street closed on a positive note. The Dow Jones rose 0.14% to 47,951.85 points, the Nasdaq rose 1.38% to 23,006.36 points while the S&P 500 gained 0.79% to 6774.76 points. The indices were toned up after the November consumer price report (after the October report was cancelled) showed annual inflation down (to 2.7%) and lower than expected. Contributing to thegood trading sentiment were optimistic forecasts from the US's largest memory chip maker, Micron Technology, which helped technology stocks rebound on a day packed with data and central bank meetings. Also advancing was Tesla, which on the eve of the day posted its record high valuation, only to close down more than 4 per cent.

Trump Media & Technology's stock is snapping up after the company announced a merger with a fusion energy company backed by Alphabet Class A , in a deal worth more than $6 billion. The new company will aim to build a series of giant power plants to serve the artificial intelligence boom. Under the agreement, President Trump's media company and Tae Technologies will split ownership of the merged company almost equally. The transaction, which is expected to close in mid-2026, values each share of Tae at $53.89. In a statement, the companies said the deal combines Trump Media's 'access to significant capital' and Tae's nuclear 'fusion technology' to provide power for artificial intelligence technology. Next year, the merged company will begin theconstruction of a 50-megawatt industrial-scale nuclear fusion power plant, said the companies, which plan to build additional fusion power plants.

The ECB, as widely expected, left interest rates unchanged at 2.15% and deposit rates at 2%. The Eurotower raised its estimates for eurozone GDP growth to 1.4 per cent in 2025, 1.2 per cent in 2026 and 1.4 per cent in 2027, a level at which it is expected to remain in 2028. In September the Eurosystem staff's expectations were for growth averaging 1.2 per cent in 2025, 1 per cent in 2026 and 1.3 per cent in 2027. "Economic growth," reads the end-of-summit statement, "is expected to be stronger than projected in September, driven in particular by domestic demand. Core inflation is expected at 2.4% in 2025, 2.2% in 2026, 1.9% in 2027 and 2% in 2028.

The Governing Council underlines "the urgent need to strengthen the euro area and its economy in the current geopolitical environment". This was said by ECB President Christine Lagarde at a press conference in Frankfurt, adding that structural and fiscal policies should stimulate productivity, competitiveness and the resilience of the economy. Regarding the monetary policy stance, the Governing Council "will follow a data-driven approach whereby decisions are taken on a case-by-case basis at each meeting". In particular, Lagarde explained, the Governing Council's interest rate decisions "will be based on an assessment of the inflation outlook and associated risks, given new economic and financial data, as well as the dynamics of core inflation and the intensity of the monetary policy transmission, without constraining itself to a particular rate path".