The financial session on Tuesday 28 July is still characterised by the same drivers as the day before, namely the drop in the price of oil which penalises oil-related stocks, Uncertainty over semiconductors amidst earnings season for US tech giants (Meta, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon will publish between tomorrow and Thursday), and the wait to gauge the orientations of the Federal Reserve which meets between today and tomorrow. Rates are expected to remain unchanged, but while some time ago the trend was towards reduction, now a rate hike in September is becoming an increasingly likely scenario.
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Expectations for today's and tomorrow's Fed meeting: focus on inflation
The US central bank's priority at this stage is inflation, which is under pressure from geopolitical tensions. Today, however, unlike yesterday, markets are reacting slightly more negatively to the aforementioned scenario: stock markets are mixed, with Piazza Affari closing in the red -0,7%, while in Europe, Paris is performing better +0,6%, Frankfurt +0,5%, and London +0,8%, while Amsterdam is rebounding +1% after yesterday's plunge. Across the ocean, keeping Milan's red company is the Nasdaq (-0,3% the Composite Index, -1% the Nasdaq-100 tech basket), while the Dow Jones rose robustly by 1%, led by Boeing's +4%. Previously, it was worth noting the Tokyo's Nikkei closes in shock -4%, and in Seoul Sk Hynix lost 15%.
Sandisk and Micron drop double-digit on the Nasdaq
On the Nasdaq, chip and artificial intelligence-related stocks are losing ground: Among the most traded: Micron -10%, Sandisk -15%Nvidia is at parity, while among traditional big tech companies, Microsoft rebounded by 2,6% on the eve of its earnings and Google by 2%, while Tesla and Amazon are in the red and Meta is at parity. SpaceX is up almost 2% at 17:30 PM Italian time., after losing about 20% so far in July. The market is looking ahead to the company's first publicly traded results, expected in the coming days, which will provide more details on Starlink's performance, its launch business, and investments in the group's other businesses. Bucking the trend in the Nasdaq-100, Booking +5% and Netflix +4%.
Commodities: WTI oil below $80 a barrel
Oil prices continue to fall: today WTI Crude Oil even drops below $80 a barrel, while Brent crude is currently trading between $84 and $85, hitting its lowest level in over a week thanks to renewed diplomatic engagement on the Strait of Hormuz, which has improved the outlook for oil supplies from the Middle East. Oman has proposed a joint regional mechanism for managing the Strait, which would allow Iran to collect voluntary transit fees; a plan that reportedly has received support from the Gulf countries. Now, however, it remains to be seen whether Donald Trump agrees. European natural gas is also falling, trading below 58 euros per megawatt hour today. Bad day for gold and silver: the first is still comfortably holding the $4.000 an ounce mark, the second is worth $57.
Pharmaceuticals soar at Piazza Affari with Amplifon and Diasorin
As regards Piazza Affari, The Ftse Mib recovered a bit towards the end and closed at 51.700 points. The damage is being limited by healthcare stocks, namely Diasorin +5,3% and Amplifon +3%, which are benefiting from the encouraging results of the sector also at an international level: for example London-listed GSK posted quarterly results with sales and operating profit rising, contributing to improving sentiment across the entire European pharmaceutical sector. The positive trend continues for Ferrari, up 2,9%, and Stellantis, up 2,2%. The worst performers are oil & gas and chip stocks: Saipem loses almost 9%, Tenaris -1,9%, Italgas -3,1%, and Stm -3%. Banks are the most in trouble: Banco Bpm -1,8% and Mps -1,87% were the worst performers.
BTP-Bund spread, euro-dollar exchange rate, and Bitcoin
The BTP-Bund spread drops by a few points, which however remains at 80 basis points, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year BTP also falling to 3,92%. The euro recovered slightly against the US dollar, bringing the exchange rate back to the 1,14 mark. Bitcoin lost 1%, closing below $64.000 today.
