Stock exchanges, Europe brakes with volatility on tech but Milan (+0.9%) closes on highs. Paypal collapses on Wall Street

"European stock exchanges continue to move on the highs, but with an increasingly marked distinction between stocks and sectors," comments Luigi Nardella of Ceresio Investors, pointing out that the most positive trends are seen "for companies benefiting from infrastructure investments linked to artificial intelligence - above all Asml and Siemens Energy - driven by strong growth in turnover and orders. The banking and defence sectors are also doing well'. On the contrary, the performance of sectors "penalised by weak demand and/or growing competition, such as the luxury and automotive sectors," is negative.

After some initial uncertainty, Wall Street closed negative. The Dow Jones lost 0.34 per cent to 49,241.06 points, the Nasdaq gave up 1.43 per cent to 23,255.19 points, and the S&P 500 dropped 0.84 per cent to 6,917.77 points. In Washington, the House is expected to approve the funding package to reopen federal operations partially closed since last Saturday. "Precisely because of this partial shutdown, the labour market data, which was among the most important of the week, will not be published this Friday," note analysts at Mps. Meanwhile, in January, the number of job openings fell to 7.146 million, according to data from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (Jolts). Expectations were for a figure of 7.64 million, following 7.4 million in November.

In equities, as mentioned, Palantir is flying after the defence technology company announced solid financial results for the fourth quarter and optimistic forecasts. In the technology sector, up Alphabet ahead of its financial results on Wednesday 4 February. This week investors are digesting the financial results of over 100 companies in the S&P 500. In addition to Alphabet, Amazon , another giant of the "Magnificent Seven", will also release its results this week. Tech sector results will be the focus of attention, with investors looking for signs of efficiency and earnings growth based on artificial intelligence, particularly after the market's ruthless reaction to Microsoft Corp's results last week.

It slumps, however Paypal , after the company chose former Hp CEO Enriques Lores as its next ceo and after the board decided that "the pace of change and implementation were not in line" with expectations. The payments company also said it expected a drop in profits in 2026. The stock of Pfizer lost ground, after a drop in fourth-quarter sales (-1% to 17.56 billion) and a loss of 1.65 billion, or 29 cents per share, versus 410 million, or 7 cents per share, a year earlier; adjusted earnings were 66 cents per share, versus the consensus 57 cents

in Milan, the banking theme continued to take centre stage, with Intesa Sanpaolo (+1.5%) buoyed by record 2025 accounts and the new plan. Within the sector, UniCredit (+2.1%) remained in the spotlight, as did Generali (+1.6%); UniCredit's own accounts are scheduled for Monday 9 February, while Bper's (+1.3%) are expected on Thursday.

Among the list's best performers were Campari (+3.2%) and DiaSorin (+4.1%), which submitted an application to the US Food and Drug Administration (Fda) for approval of a molecular test for Group A Streptococcus, for an estimated market for Gas tests of around USD 150 million. Recordati (+2.4%) also did well after Kepler Cheuvreux upgraded its stock from 'hold' to 'buy' and upgraded its Isturisa ratings. Also up was Prysmian (+2.5%), which benefited from the focus on the maxi contract for Eastern Green Link 4.

On the flip side, the day was marked by the shock to the paytech sector: Nexi (-4.9%) slipped to an all-time low of EUR 3.41, along with the sector after the PayPal slump, triggered by the change at the top and a below-expected quarterly report (earnings per share at USD 1.23 and revenues at EUR 8.68 billion). Amplifon was also weak (-2.8%), weighed down by the thud of its Danish rival Demant (-10.7%), mainly due to an outlook judged to be cautious.

Silver and gold prices rebounded after eve's declines and always with high volatility: precious metals - say analysts at Mps - are "always extremely volatile, in the absence of new news speculative flows continue to determine intraday action". The gold surpassed again 4,900 dollars an ounce and climbs towards 5,000 while silver moves above 88 dollars an ounce. Palladium and platinum also rallied. Gold and silver had suffered heavy selling on Friday, following the appointment of Kevin Warsh as head of the Federal Reserve by US President Donald Trump.

Re-coverages on the oil, after falling more than 4% in the previous session, after US President Donald Trump declared that Iran was "talking seriously" with Washington, signalling a possible reduction in tensions. According to Reuters reports, Iran and the US are expected to resume nuclear talks on Friday in Turkey. Trump also warned that with large US warships heading towards Iran, bad things could happen if no agreement was reached.

On the currency, the euro moved above $1.18. The yen came under pressure ahead of the weekend Japanese elections that could give PM Sanae Takaichi a mandate for her fiscal easing agenda.  

The bitcoin suffered, falling to the lowest level since April, below $77,000, signalling a lower appetite for risk among investors.

Slight upward pressure on euro yields, despite the approval in France of the budget law (the prime minister passed two no-confidence votes) and above all the higher than expected slowdown in French inflation. The spread between the BTp and Bund closed slightly lower at 61 basis points, one less than the eve's closing. On the other hand, the yield of the benchmark 10-year BTp rose, marking a final position at 3.50% compared to 3.48% at eve's close.

On the primary, the syndicated placement of the new 15-year benchmarkBTp closed with record demand. The issue, according to market sources, was set at 14 billion against requests for more than 157 billion. The spread with which the bond was offered on the market is 8 basis points above the yield of the BTp maturity 10/1/2040.

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