Stock exchanges, new slump amid rumours and denials on duties. Wall Street contrasted, Milan -5%. 37.7 billion burned

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Between rumours and denials about US duties, the European stock exchanges closed the first session of the week in hysteria, leaving on the ground further heavy falls as a result of the latest announcement, in order of time, by US President Trump that "if China does not remove its 34% duties on US products by 8 April, the United States will impose another 50% on China from 9 April". Added to this is the speculation, branded immediately afterwards as fake news by the White House, that Trump could freeze the application of the duties for 90 days. Thus, Milan (FTSE MIB ) closed with the worst performance in the Old Continent, returning below the 33,000-point mark (32,849.17 points). In today's day alone, EUR 37.76 billion were burnt on the Ftse Mib. Paris (CAC 40 ), Frankfurt (DAX 30 ) and Madrid (IBEX 35 ).

The fears triggered by the introduction of US tariffs, which kicked off the Trump administration's trade war, have prompted the Fed to convene a closed-door meeting this afternoon with interest rates at the centre of discussions. In fact, it is not out of the question that the US central bank will proceed with an emergency cut before the May meeting. Pushing the Fed towards this move are the less than reassuring indications coming from economists who have revised upwards the probability that the US economy will enter recession. Meanwhile, even Trump's most ardent supporters are beginning to turn up their noses: after Bill Ackman, founder of the Pershing Square fund, declared over the weekend that the world risks "an economic nuclear winter", on Monday it was the turn of JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon who said that duties could lead to recession and higher inflation. Fears that are also confirmed in the trading rooms.

Wall Street closed mixed after Donald Trump ruled out tariff breaks. The Dow Jones lost 0.91 per cent to 37,965.60 points, the Nasdaq gained 0.10 per cent to 15,603.26 points while the S&P 500 dropped 0.23 per cent to 5062.25 points. The New York Stock Exchange swung, after a deep red start in the wake of the other financial markets, on glimmers of a halt to the tariffs wanted by President Trump. The tyccon meanwhile continues to defend theduties as "medicine" needed to rebalance the trade balance. "This week I talked to many, Europeans, Asians. They are dying to make a deal" on tariffs, he said. Many harsh criticisms have been raised by those who support, or supported, the president. Against this backdrop, look tothe unscheduled Fed meeting this afternoon as expectations of new interest rate cuts grow in the market. Based on Treasury yields on different maturities, themarket expects 5 cuts of 25 basis points this year and is beginning to assess the possibility of an emergency Fed intervention as early as next week. Over the next few days, a series of data is expected which will provide an already 'aged' picture of the US economy due to the tariffs: employment trends, consumer credit and inflation (Cpi); in addition, the minutes of the latest meeting of the FOMC, the monetary policy arm of the Federal Reserve, will be released. The quarterly earnings season also begins: earnings from JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, Walgreens and Tesco, among others, are scheduled.

In Milan, all stocks closed in the red, with the Ftse Mib touching the lowest level since August 2024, below 32,000 points but then recovering. Banks were heavy on equities: for Banca Pop Er, Banca Pop Sondr and Banca Mps Mediobanca and Intesa Sanpaolo the balance sheet since the beginning of the year risks turning negative. Recordati and A2a were the worst performers. Better Stmicroelectronics and Diasorin, which benefited from its limited exposure to US duties, despite the fact that the US accounts for more than 50 per cent of the group's sales and 40 per cent of the global diagnostics market.

The day of turmoil in the markets over the Trump administration's trade war did not spare fixed income, with the BTp outperforming other Eurozone sovereign bonds on the downside. The ten-year benchmark August 2035 bond traded on the Mts secondary market in the final day recorded a spread of 126 points against the Bund after the 'range' had opened up to 131 basis points in the morning. The yield on the Italian ten-year bond rose sharply to 3.85% from 3.75% at Friday's close. The other sovereigns of 'peripheral' countries, such as the Spanish Bonos, also did badly, with yields rising sharply.