Stock exchanges, Intel flare-up pushes Nasdaq. Milan -2.5% in the week

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - The nerves of theEuropean stock exchanges (and investors) remain frayed by the stalemate in the US-Iran talks, with the Old Continent failing to be swayed either by Wall Street optimism or the tech rally, closing almost entirely in the red. With the geopolitical 'pendulum' swinging from the risk of escalation to new negotiations, lists appear disappointed by the lack of signs pointing to a possible diplomatic solution for the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz, with the Brent volatile around $104. In any case, the stock exchanges remain sensitive to any signals, as witnessed by the partial recovery towards mid-session on the hope of a new round of talks between Washington and Tehran, which was immediately extinguished by the news that Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf had left the role of head of the Iranian delegation for internal disagreements ahead of the negotiations in Islamabad (where the Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, is expected).

In this context, Milan's Ftse Mib closed in negative territory at -0.52%. The other Old Continent stock markets followed a similar trend: Paris -0.8%, Frankfurt -0.1%, Madrid -1.1%, with only Amsterdam bucking the trend at +0.6%. Meanwhile, investors are also focusing on fundamentals and the impact of the war on the global economy and inflation, also ahead of next week's European Central Bank meeting.

Wall Street ended the session mixed, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq finishing at their new record highs on the upcoming start. The S&P 500 rose 0.80 per cent to 7,165.08 points, while the Nasdaq climbed 1.63 per cent to 24,836.60. The Dow Jones, however, gave up 0.16%, slipping to 49,230.71 points. On Wall Street, the main indices were positively driven by the technology sector, with Intel leading the way after the release of earnings above estimates. Weaker, however, was the Dow Jones, as investors continued to monitor geopolitical developments in the Gulf. Uncertainties over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key junction for about one fifth of global energy flows before the conflict, are weighing heavily. Meanwhile, the US consumer confidence index fell to 49.8 in April from 53.3 in March, according to final data from the University of Michigan (forecast at 46.1). Overseas markets returned from a negative eve, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 down about 0.4 per cent yesterday, and the Nasdaq down -0.9 per cent. In contrast, chipmaker Intel is soaring today, as we said after above-expected accounts, with improved guidance on Cpu demand, also on the back of rises in Texas Instruments on the eve of the day, which was weighed down by some profit-taking today. Another semiconductor manufacturer Amd's stock also surged, rising more than 10 per cent.

The continuing stop and go in the US-Iran negotiations, added to the de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, turned back the clock for European markets, which closed the week all with heavy liabilities. The worst was the Madrid Stock Exchange, which lost 4.3% over the five sessions. Paris (-3.2%) and London (-2.7%) followed on the podium of the worst performers. Milan (-2.5%) and Frankfurt (-2.3%) were also in the red. Noteworthy is the different trend of Wall Street which, while the last session is still missing, recorded +1.3% weekly on the Nasdaq and +0.5% for the S&P 500. Geopolitical tensions continue to make their effects felt on the energy front, as witnessed by the Brent (+13.2%), Wti (+13.6%) and natural gas (+14.2%) rally in recent days.

At Piazza Affari, b>banks were the main losers (-7.2% in the sub-index for the sector), but a closer look at individual stocks shows that there was no shortage of double-digit gains in the last week: for example, the Italian-French tech company St (+16.5%) shone on the back of its financial statements, along with Saipem (+12%) thanks to the rally in crude oil prices. Also in the wake was Tenaris (+9.7%). Sales on the opposite side on Avio and Fincantieri (both -11.7%) and UniCredit (-10.9%), the protagonist of the surprise rise in the capital of the Generali company.