Stock market: Europe opens lower with all eyes on tech stocks; in Milan (-1.2%), Nexi is lagging behind
(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Europe opens the final trading session of the week in the red, following declines in Asia, with Seoul and Tokyo down by around 6 points and the Nikkei entering bear market territory (-20 per cent from its June highs). The fallout from the Nasdaq’s black day continues, with the index down more than 5 per cent on the eve of trading, having fallen 15 per cent from its 6 October highs and seen around 2,500 billion dollars wiped off its total market capitalisation. Although Wall Street futures are currently signalling an attempt at a recovery (Nasdaq futures up 0.9%), fears remain high regarding the future of the massive investments in artificial intelligence triggered by the Democrats’ victory in the United States (they could introduce stricter controls, particularly on the development of data centres). As a result, Milan is down 1.2 per cent, following an initial fall of 1.7 per cent, Paris is down 1.5 per cent, Frankfurt 1.7 per cent, Amsterdam 1.43 per cent, Madrid 0.9 per cent and London 1.4 per cent. The spotlight will once again be on the United States, where data on US employment and consumer confidence (the University of Michigan index) are due to be released. On the Milan stock exchange, the main index is almost entirely in the red, with the exception of Leonardo (+0.7 per cent), Buzzi (+0.19 per cent) and Technoprobe (+0.2 per cent following the previous day’s slump in tech shares). Bringing up the rear are Nexi (-3.3 per cent) and Banco Bpm (-1.78 per cent), in the wake of their results, whilst Amplifon (-2.4 per cent) and Saipem (-2.35 per cent) are also down. In the spotlight is MPS (-0.38%), which saw its third-quarter profit rise and announced that it is continuing to assess the voluntary public takeover bid launched by Intesa Sanpaolo (-1.26%). Incidentally, Citi has resumed coverage of Intesa with a ‘buy’ rating and a target price of €7.18. Meanwhile, oil prices are easing after earlier gains, heading towards the close of a volatile week, whilst tensions in the Middle East remain high, with Saudi Arabia issuing alerts of potential danger in Yanbu, an oil export hub on the Red Sea. As a result, the December WTI contract fell by 0.27% to $90.28 per barrel, whilst the January Brent contract fell by 0.35% to $97.93. Natural gas traded in Amsterdam fell by 0.17% to €90.52 per megawatt-hour. In the currency markets, the dollar has strengthened against the major currencies, but the decline in risk appetite could weigh on sentiment: the euro/dollar exchange rate stands at 1.118 (from 1.1217 at the previous close), the dollar/yen at 158.04 (from 157.653) and the euro/yen at 176.73 (from 176.838). Finally, the spread has risen to 110 points, from 109 at the previous close, with the 10-year yield at 4.32 per cent, down from 4.34 per cent the previous day.
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