Wall Street closes negative but Tesla runs. In Milan (-0.1%) only the banking risk in turmoil

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - A colourless session for European stock exchanges, with Milan closing at -0.1%. The rest of the Old Continent was also weak, with the Paris Cac the black jersey (-1.2%) bearing the brunt of political uncertainty after the fall of the Barnier government and hopes for a swift end to the crisis. Investors await Wednesday's US inflation data, which will be crucial in interpreting the Fed's future monetary policy moves ahead of its next meeting on 18 December. On the European front, however, eyes will be on the ECB meeting on Thursday and the usual press conference of President Christine Lagarde. A rate cut is now taken for granted, but the market is betting on a cut of only 25 basis points due to the climate of uncertainty caused on the one hand by geopolitical tensions with the escalation of the crisis in Syria, and on the other by fears of the tariff policy wanted by US President Donald Trump.

Wall Street closes negative. The Dow Jones dropped 0.35 % to 44,247.83 points, the Nasdaq fell 0.25 % to 19,687.24 points (after having updated its all-time high to 19,887 points thanks to the tech rally) and the S&P 500 dropped 0.29 % to 6,035.11 points. In evidence Alphabet and Tesla, above $400. The stock touched $406.32, a record high for the year, and is targeting the best close since 3 January 2022, when it ended the session at $399.93, according to Dow Jones data. Tesla's record close is $409.97, recorded on 4 November 2021, while the all-time high, also recorded on 4 November 2021, is $414.50. Over the past week, the stock has gained almost 13%. The shares are benefiting from some rating upgrades, decided in recent days by several analysts, in the wake of Donald Trump's re-election to the White House, of which Elon Musk - Tesla's CEO - has become an important advisor, and the positive sales data in China. Since the election on 5 November, Tesla's share price has gained around 55%.

Nvidia rebounded, having lost 2.55% on the eve of the event after Chinese authorities announced the opening of an investigation into the US technology company for possible violations of the country's anti-monopoly law. Last week, the Biden administration announced a new set of restrictions on the sale of US chips to China, fuelling new tensions between the two countries. The stock of Oracle dropped almost 9%, after the software company reported a below-expected quarterly report; since the beginning of the year, the stock has gained more than 80%.

Meanwhile, the market ponders the Fed's intentions, with the meeting scheduled for next week. 86.1 per cent of analysts polled by Cme Group's FedWatch Tool believe the US central bank will cut the cost of money by 25 basis points, but will also base their decision on the inflation data to be released on Wednesday, the other market mover this week. On the macro front, productivity improved. In particular, in the third quarter, excluding the agricultural and state sectors, it grew in line with expectations at +2.2% p.a., compared to +2.1% confirmed for the second quarter. Unit labour costs - an important thermometer of inflationary pressures - rose by 0.8%, less than the forecast of +1.2%. However, the previous quarter's figure was revised from +2.4% to -1.1%.

Banks are still driving trading at Piazza Affari, with the banking risk increasingly at the centre of discussions. The shares of Banco Bpm (+1.2% at the top of the Ftse Mib) continue to rise, suggesting that more and more investors are betting on a revision of the terms of the offer by Unicredit (+0.3%), with the takeover bid possibly turning into an opas. The spotlight was also on Anima (+1%) after news emerged that businessman Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone had increased his stake to 5.3%. It should be noted that the sgr is under a takeover bid by Banco Bpm, the largest shareholder with a stake of over 20%. The stock closed the session at EUR 6.53 per share, above the IPO price of EUR 6.2. Mps also did well, closing among the best in the main list up 1.2%.