Stock market: Europe closes slightly higher, led by tech; Milan (-0.5%) held back by banks

On Wall Street, the Nasdaq hits a new intraday high. Crude oil prices are falling

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - European stock markets are taking a breather following the strong rally the previous day and are assessing developments on the geopolitical front whilst the United Nations General Assembly is in session. The markets are being buoyed primarily by buying in the tech sector, which has pushed Wall Street’s Nasdaq to a new intraday record on the back of renewed optimism regarding artificial intelligence: yesterday, Meta posted an 11 per cent rally thanks to data on the uptake of its AI agent, Muse. The Milan Stock Exchange, however, closed in the red, with the FTSE MIB down 0.53 per cent, held back by weakness in banking shares and selling in Poste Italiane (-3.97 per cent) on the second day of the reopening of the bid for TIM (-3.34 per cent). Generali was also down (-3.3%). In the spotlight, meanwhile, were StMicroelectronics, up 4.37%, and Prysmian (+2.54%). There was also buying interest in Campari (+1.95%), Lottomatica (+1.64%) and Nexi (+1.4%).

On the foreign exchange market, the euro fell to 1.1437 dollars from 1.1469 at yesterday’s close. The yen has recovered slightly after falling to a three-week low: the Japanese currency is trading at 180.06 to the euro (from 180.60) and at 157.43 to the dollar (from 157.46).

Hopes for a negotiated solution to the war in Iran that would allow oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz to resume continue to keep crude oil prices in check: the November WTI futures contract fell by 0.96 per cent to $91.48 per barrel, whilst the Brent contract for the same month fell by 0.52 per cent to $99.83. Natural gas prices in Amsterdam rose by 0.6 per cent to €73.7 per megawatt-hour.

Ppa-