Weak stock markets and rising oil amid Iran standoff and Big Tech wait. Adidas wins with Sawe

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - The stalemate and uncertainty in the negotiations between the United States and Iran, along with tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, continue to weigh on investor sentiment, which prefers to remain cautious, even in anticipation of a particularly rich week from a macro point of view and which will see meetings of all the major central banks. Thus, the main European stock markets closed below parity: Milan (+0.04%) remained afloat with Saipem gaining more than 4 per cent. Further back was Paris (-0.19%), Frankfurt (-0.2%), while Madrid stopped at parity. Doing worse were Amsterdam (-1.1%) and London (-0.56%). On Wall Street, the main indices are down, while expectations are rising for the quarterly accounts of the tech giants.

On the Middle East front, the focus is on the US-Iran deal attempts, which are expected to precede the much-coveted reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, after the last round of peace talks in Pakistan was cancelled. "The volatility of negotiations between Iran and the US generates volatile sentiment, but the baseline scenario remains geared towards de-escalation," writes Invesco's Luca Simoncelli, according to whom, however, "the likelihood of a scenario in which the first concrete damage to economic growth, not just inflation, is being created is increasing." Speaking of inflation, all eyes are on the central banks: the Bank of Japan will meet on Tuesday to decide whether or not to cut rates; on Wednesday it will be the Federal Reserve that will decide on the reference interest rate, after having made its last cut to the cost of money in the second half of 2025; on Thursday it will then be the turn of the ECB and the Bank of England.

Wall Street closed mixed. The Dow Jones lost 0.13% to 49,168.10 points, the Nasdaq rose 0.20% to 24,887.10 points and the S&P 500 advanced 0.12% to 7,173.96 points. Anticipation is rising for the Federal Reserve's decision and for the tech giants' quarterly reports: on Wednesday, the numbers of Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft, key indicators of sentiment surrounding the artificial intelligence sector, which have reached a combined market capitalisation of $11.6 billion, or over 19% of the entire S&P 500, will be released. On the stock, it is running Qualcomm after technology analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities wrote on X that OpenAI is collaborating with the company and Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer MediaTek to develop processors for smartphones. The announcement has galvanised investors who believe that artificial intelligence could kick-start a new wave of upgrades in the smartphone industry.

Adidas beats Nike thanks to its running 'super shoe'. On Sunday, marathon runner Sabastian Sawe won the London Marathon in a record time of 1:59:30. Once across the finish line, the Kenyan athlete lifted his shoes towards the spectators with the time of his run written under the three symbolic Adidas stripes. Sawe thus broke the previous record set in 2023 by compatriot Kelvin Kiptum, who had run the Chicago Marathon in 2 hours 35 seconds wearing Nike shoes. Just 11 seconds behind Sawe at the London Marathon was Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha, also wearing Adidas on his feet, who finished second in the men's race. His compatriot Tigst Assefa set a new world record in the women's race with a time of 2:15:41. And on her feet she wore Adidas shoes.The marathon's winning results were reflected in the German giant's stock, which closed up almost 2 per cent in Frankfurt, taking its market capitalisation to almost EUR 25 billion. The stock comes from a lacklustre period, with a loss of over 18% in an increasingly complex consumer environment. Now the first positive signs, thanks precisely to that running category that was neglected for too long (from 2010 to 2020). In the last year, in fact, sales in the running segment grew by over 30%, contributing to record revenues of 24.8 billion in 2025. Sawe, Kejelcha and Assefa wore the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 running shoes, described by the company as 'the lightest and fastest Adizero ever'. The European size 43 weighs 97 grams and costs $500. The Adizero Evo Sl model, which is cheaper than the Adios Pro Evo, has proved popular with amateur runners.

On equities in Piazza Affari, purchases rewarded Saipem (+4.3%), which closed at the top of the list, supported by the rise in crude oil prices. Banks were also well bought, with Bper (+1.9%) leading the gains along with Banca Mediolanum (+1.8%). Nexi (+1.5%) rebounded after initial losses and a downgrade by BofA, which cut its recommendation on the stock to 'Underperform'. At the bottom of the list, Avio (-4.5%), St (-2.3%) and Prysmian (-2.2%). Ferrari was also down. At the Paris Stock Exchange, EssilorLuxottica closed on a parity after initial gains on the day of Delfin's extraordinary shareholders' meeting, with shareholders called upon to vote on the transfer of the 25% in the hands of brothers Paola and Luca Del Vecchio to Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio.