Stock market: tech stocks rally; Milan up 1.3 per cent, buoyed by strong quarterly results and support

A rebound triggered by Microsoft’s surge on Wall Street

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - The tech sector’s rebound and the resulting surge in the Nasdaq – the likes of which haven’t been seen for some time – have spurred European stock markets, which, after a mixed morning, rallied in the second half of the session, closing with gains in many cases of over 1 per cent. Helping to drive this are slowing US inflation, the BoE leaving interest rates unchanged (the London market is at record highs) and, above all, the earnings season, which, at least for the moment, seems to be easing fears of a tech bubble (as evidenced by Microsoft’s 15 per cent rise on Wall Street). This comes as markets await the results from the two giants, Apple and Amazon, after the close, from which investors are expecting clear signals for the entire sector.

On the Milan Stock Exchange, the FTSE MIB closed up 1.3 per cent, above the symbolic 52,000-point mark. Leading the gains was ST, which surged by 6.4 per cent in the wake of the tech sector, alongside Azimut (+3.9 per cent) and Prysmian (+4.5 per cent), both following the release of earnings and upward revisions to targets. In fact, quarterly results are also driving the performance of Campari (+1.2 per cent), thanks to figures exceeding expectations, and Ferrari (+1.1 per cent). Buying in the banking and insurance sectors is leading the market. At the bottom of the list, the market was disappointed by Stellantis’s results (-4.3%), which fell short of expectations. Pirelli remained cautious (+0.1%) following a downgrade by JP Morgan, whilst A2A fell (-0.9%). Trevi, on the other hand, surged (+8.3%) following the takeover bid launched by Webuild (+2.7%).

On the foreign exchange front, the euro rose to 1.1512 dollars (from 1.1466 at yesterday’s close) and is also trading at 183.52 yen (187.25). The cross rate between the US dollar and the Japanese yen stands at 159.40 (163.30), with the yen buoyed by rumours of possible intervention by the Bank of Japan. Among commodities, gas stood at 58.4 euros per MWh (-3.4 per cent) and oil showed a mixed picture: North Sea Brent, for September delivery, fell by 0.6 per cent to $90.2 per barrel towards the end of the session, whilst WTI for the same month traded at $84.6 (+0.2 per cent).

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