EU stock exchanges and Wall Street in the red on inflation fears, Milan -2%

Between the  'tech bubble' linked to AI, geopolitical uncertainties, the stalemate in the US-Iran talks and the Strait of Hormuz crisis that continues, markets are now beginning to discount a scenario of rate hikes by the Fed and ECB to nip in the bud the inflationary spiral linked mainly to energy prices. The result is also a general rise in government bond yields across the Eurozone.

The worst of the week was thus the Paris Stock Exchange (-2%), followed by Frankfurt (-1.6%) and Madrid (-1.5%). -0.4% for London, however, grappling with a government crisis whose consequences are still difficult to predict.

Taking a closer look at the individual securities of the Ftse Mib, DiaSorin (+11.5%), Saipem (+8.2%) and St. John's (+7.8%) recorded strong weekly gains. On the other hand, Nexi (-11.2%), Moncler (-8.8%) and Leonardo (-7.8%) lost share.

After the record highs of the past few days, indices on Wall Street moved sharply lower. The losses in technology stocks and the rise in yields on US Treasury bonds weighed heavily, after the conclusion of the summit between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, which left traders concerned about the lack of major political and trade progress. Specifically weighing on the Nasdaq-100 were losses by Intel, Advanced Micro Devices and Micron Technology. Also declining were Nvidia Corp and Cerebras Systems, after up 60 per cent on the eve of its debut. "The sector has been extremely unsustainable in recent weeks and remains vulnerable to profit-taking, regardless of the news," wrote Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge. Bucking the trend was Microsoft Corp, after Bill Ackman said on X that Pershing Square had opened a position in the stock. Treasury bond yields rose, putting pressure on equities, with the 30-year rate surpassing 5.1 per cent, at its highest in almost a year. A series of reports released this week showed that inflation is regaining momentum, due to high oil prices caused by the conflict in the Middle East.

The US stock market fell from its record highs and joined a worldwide decline in equities after rising oil prices sent the bond market shuddering.
The S&P 500 index fell 1.07% from its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.25 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.54 per cent from its all-time high. Technology stocks g

On the Milanese equities, Stmicroelectronics slipped after its eve rally. The stock, however, is up 135 per cent since the start of the year: analyst sentiment shows signs of cautious optimism, driven by the end of the inventory correction in the chip sector and the bet on artificial intelligence. In the wake of the sell-off on tech stocks in the US, gains were also seen on Prysmian . Sell-offs on banks with Bper Banca and Intesa Sanpaolo leading the declines. The Unipol's positive first-quarter results were not enough, with net profit at EUR 433m (+6%) and inflows at EUR 4.8bn (+7%). Leading the list Saipem and Diasorin, the oil companies are also holding up with Tenaris and Eni . It falls Stellantis : although the agreement with Dongfeng to produce new Peugeot and Jeep models in China is considered positive by analysts, the market is already looking beyond, at future prospects, which show signs of improvement but with results not yet consolidated, and at the industrial plan to be presented on 21 May. Outside of the main basket, Salvatore Ferragamo plummeted in the aftermath of the release of Q1 2026 sales numbers, despite being fairly in line with expectations.

On the energy front, crude oil prices remain pegged above 100 dollars a barrel, with Brent close to 108 dollars and Wti at 104 dollars, helped by the fact that, according to observers, flows through the Strait of Hormuz remain very low and signs of progress on a US-Iran deal are limited. Also on the rise was the natural gas traded in Amsterdam, targeting EUR 49 per megawatt hour. Gold fell, with the spot contract at $4,570 an ounce.

Bitcoin falls, driven by widespread risk aversion and a stronger dollar. On the one hand, the lack of concrete progress at the end of President Trump's visit to China and the ongoing standoff between the US and Iran weigh on risk sentiment, on the other, dollar is buoyed by bets that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates following a series of higher-than-expected US price data earlier in the week. Bitcoin falls more than 2% below $80,000. On the currency the euro remains below $1.17 and changed hands at $1.164.

The yield differential between the benchmark ten-year BTp and the German Bund was 77 basis points at the end of the session, up from 73 basis points at Thursday's close. Over the past week, the BTp-Bund has risen by 5 percentage points to its current 77 points (from 72) with the yield on the 10-year BTp reaching 3.93% (from 3.73% a week ago) in the last session.

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