EU stock exchanges pay for Iran fears and do not take advantage of Wall Street rally. Milan -0.2%, oil at $100

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - The optimism of a record-breaking Wall Street is not rubbing off on European stocks, which are grappling with the stalemate in US-Iran negotiations and fresh rises in oil prices. Reports of shooting attacks on at least three ships in the Strait of Hormuz have lifted oil prices again, with the Brent back above the $100 per barrel mark. But overseas, investors are mainly focused on the positive numbers coming out of the quarterly reports and the AI outlook, which overshadow fears of a war that - they are betting - will be short-lived. Tonight, all eyes will be on Tesla, which will kick off the quarterly round of the Magnificent Seven, mostly concentrated between 29 and 30 April.

thus the Old Continent closed the session sluggish. The Ftse Mib in Milan filed -0.25%, at about 47,785 points and in line with the rest of Europe: Paris -0.9%, Frankfurt -0.4%, Madrid -0.9%, Amsterdam bucked the trend at +0.2% - also led by the tech rally - and London -0.2%. Meanwhile, with respect to plans to send the US delegation to Pakistan for the second round of talks with Iran, Trump said today - in a message to the New York Post - that the meetings could be "possible" as early as Friday.

The major indices on Wall Street are up. The prospect of de-escalation is helping to support global sentiment in an environment that remains fragile on the geopolitical front. Wall Street has regained ground in recent sessions, with the benchmark S&P 500 index returning to all-time highs after absorbing losses related to the outbreak of conflict. Tech continues to lead thanks to the AI theme. According to Stephanie Aliaga of JPMorgan Asset Management, 'markets are looking to the future and the reality is that we are still on a de-escalation path,' she explained on Cnbc. For the quarterly earnings season, as we said, tonight Tesla will kick off the accounts of the 'Magnificent Seven'.

Oil companies are flying at Piazza Affari, particularly Saipem (+6.4%), which posted a net profit of EUR78 million in the first quarter of the year, broadly stable, and then confirmed its 2026 guidance. During the conference call, CEO Alessandro Puliti stressed that the conflict in the Middle East "did not have a significant negative impact" on operating and financial performance in the first three months of the year. Purchases were also made on Eni (+2.4%) and Tenaris (+2.1%), which benefited from the rally in crude oil prices. Nexi (+2.1%) and Prysmian (+1.5%) also closed on a positive note, with the latter reflecting the tech sector, driven by Asm International (+6.9%) after positive quarterly results and better than expected forecasts. Banking stocks were generally weak, led by Banco Bpm (-2.2%) and Unicredit (-2%), while Amplifon (-1.5%) also sold off after Australian Cochlear issued a profit warning. At the tail end were Avio (-5.5%) and Moncler (-2.7%) after first-quarter revenues came in above expectations, but with caution over the ongoing war prevailing.

Oil prices rose again after the news of the shooting of ships in the Strait of Hormuz. In this context, the Wti due in June is hovering around 93 dollars a barrel, while the Brent of the same maturity - which had gained almost 9% in the previous two sessions - has again touched 101 dollars a barrel. The euro stood at around $1.172 (from $1.174 on the eve of the session). Spot gold, on the other hand, rose slightly above $4,700. Natural gas also rose in Amsterdam, where the Ttf trades at around EUR 43 per megawatt hour. The bitcoin is also up sharply, trading at 79,000 dollars.