Stock market: Europe on hold on the day of the Fed’s announcement. Stellantis surges in Milan

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - European stock markets are holding their breath as they await the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates. Economists believe that the US central bank will leave interest rates unchanged, postponing any adjustments until December. Meanwhile, in what has been a busy week for central banks, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand surprised the markets by keeping its key interest rate at 2.75 per cent. Tomorrow it will be the European Central Bank’s turn to speak, and on Friday the Bank of Japan’s. In early trading, European indices are showing little movement and Milan, having risen by 0.3%, is now down by 0.1–0.2 per cent. The spread is in line with the ryield on ten-year bonds at 4.48 per cent.

Against this backdrop, the quarterly results season is in full swing, with tech shares providing a boost to Asian markets. South Korea’s Kospi is up nearly 7 per cent, driven by Samsung (up around 8 per cent) and SK Hynix (up 9 per cent). The former is rising just hours ahead of the publication of its quarterly results, due tomorrow, whilst the latter is soaring after reporting stellar third-quarter results: operating profit jumped by 632 per cent, reaching around $45 billion. This marks the sixth consecutive time the chipmaker has posted record results. The South Korean giant’s performance has fuelled optimism for the AI and semiconductor sectors, which had already begun to recover yesterday thanks to the guidance contained in the listing documents of Anthropic, Claude’s parent company. The tech company not only announced that first-half revenues had grown by around 1,300 per cent, but, more importantly, confirmed massive investments to meet the exponential demand for artificial intelligence. Furthermore, it was announced that Broadcom, together with Citi, Blackstone and Morgan Stanley, has put together a $63 billion (€54.4 billion) financing package to create new production capacity for Anthropic. Yesterday, Wall Street closed in positive territory, with the Nasdaq rising by over 1 per cent. This morning, Tokyo also gained 1 per cent, buoyed by the technology sector.

On the international stage, all eyes are on Israel as the election results are awaited. Whilst exit polls appeared to indicate a neck-and-neck race between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party and the opposition, the Prime Minister has promised to form a new coalition, adding that he intends to work with US President Donald Trump to eliminate the “existential threat” posed by Iran. These statements, which are bolstering oil prices, came after the opposition candidate, Gadi Eisenkot, said that the country had chosen change and would seek to form a new government.

On the Milan Stock Exchange, all eyes are on the banks, with the risk factor remaining a key concern. Yesterday evening, the ECB gave the green light to Intesa Sanpaolo to acquire Banca Monte Paschi Siena, whilst Banco Bpm has announced that it will not be attending the Siena-based bank’s shareholders’ meeting scheduled for tomorrow. Tech shares are also under close scrutiny, namely Stmicroelectronics and Technoprobe

The spotlight is also on Stellantis, which is up by over 3 per cent following the publication of its third-quarter results, which saw the loss fall by 90 per cent to 453 million – a figure that is, however, higher than analysts’ expectations of around 239 million. The group has also confirmed its 2026 guidance, with ‘mid-single-digit’ revenue growth . According to analysts, the rise in the share price is linked to the results, but is also an attempt to rebound following recent weak performance (-59.7% so far in 2026 and -23% over the last three months).