The week for the financial markets it is started with cautionawaiting the accounts of tech giant Nvidia, considered by industry insiders to be a litmus test for evaluating the state of investments in AI. After the quarterly results of the Santa Clara-based company, investors welcomed the consumer price decline in Europe, where the ECB will take heart, as the data clearly paves the way for another interest rate cut at the September meeting. Encouraging statistics have also come from across the pond, where core PCE inflation, key data for the Fed’s next moves on monetary policy, remained unchanged, thus confirming bets on a reduction in the cost of money at the September meeting.
Nvidia’s quarterly
The second trimester of Nvidia it ended with “stellar” results. However, the forecasts were not as brilliant, defined as “generic” by analysts. The numbers of the period, in fact, proved to be solid, but they did not manage to allay concerns about the stability of the artificial intelligence sector.
“In the fourth quarter we expect to generate several billion dollars in sales Blackwell,” Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress said without offering further details. And perhaps it’s that generic word “several” that has investors waiting for something more concrete perplexed.
The macroeconomic scenario
The Eurozone inflation falls from 2.6% in July to 2.2% in August is in line with consensus expectations and brings the headline inflation rate to its lowest since July 2021. Encouraging statistics also came from across the ocean, where “core” PCE inflation, a key figure for the Fed’s next moves on monetary policy, remained unchanged in July at 2.5% against expectations for a rise to 2.7%.
The following was also published this week: US GDP: The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 3% in the second quarter of 2024, above estimates of 2.8%. Economists had forecast flat growth for the second quarter after 1.4% growth in the first three months of the year, while the Atlanta Fed forecasts 2% annual GDP growth for the third quarter of 2024. The stronger-than-expected growth in the second quarter should provide further reassurance that the U.S. economy is still in good shape.
Spreads, currencies and commodities
This week there was a dollar collapse with Powell leading the way for rate cuts in the United States. At the annual central bank conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Fed Chairman Powell left no doubt that he considers the fight against inflation to be won and that the central bank’s priority has now shifted to preventing a serious deterioration in the U.S. labor market
Gold moved little which remains close to the maximum, at $2,500 an ounceOil fell slightly with Brent at 77.1 and WTI at 73.9 dollars.
Weekly stock market performance
The weekly performance of the main European stock exchanges is colored in green. The palm of increases is conquered by Piazza Affari with the index FTSE MIB up by more than 3 percentage points. In the rest of Europe, the stock market gains more than 2%. Frankfurt together with that of Madrid. The increases recorded by more than 1% London and Paris. The end is expected to be mixed, however, for the American indices, with the Nasdaq 100 down half a percentage point; the same fate for the S&P 500 while the Dow Jones Industrial rises by more than 1 percentage point.
The best and worst at Piazza Affari
Among the best stocks of the week, the good performance of the banking sector stands out, a sector that has already discounted the fact that central banks are preparing to cut rates. On the FTSE MIBare positioned at the top of the list: Fineco which jumps by more than 4 percentage points; followed by Intesa and Unicredit that earn more than 3%. You can also buy on BPER +2.60%. Outside the main basket, the rally of Juventus (+22%), after the confirmation of the purchase of the Dutch footballer Koopmeiners, on whom the black and white club had been banking for some time. The stock market is pricing the latest acquisitions well, but also the good start in the Championship. Negative weekly performance, however, for Brunelli Cucinelli (-1.9%) despite having announced a solid semester, which still allows the luxury house’s stock to close with a rise of 0.62% in the last session of the week.
