(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – Nvidia’s shock on the tech sector is not enough for the European stock exchanges, thanks to sales forecasts driven by the boom in artificial intelligence: investors continue to evaluate with concern the deadlock in the negotiations on the US debt ceiling and the latest macroeconomic data, which do not give certainties about the future strategies of central banks. The main lists thus closed the session below parity, with the FTSE MIB of Piazza Affari penalized by the sales of energy stocks. Amsterdam stood out, galvanized precisely by the good performance of the big tech companies, starting with Asm International.
On the macro front, Fitch has decided to place the AAA credit rating of the United States on watch with negative implications, precisely because of the uncertainties about the debt. The news from Germany, which technically entered a recession after recording a 0.3% drop in GDP in the first quarter of 2023 (-0.5% in the previous quarter), does not help either. Furthermore, in the US, both GDP and “core” inflation increased more than expected in the first quarter.
In the evening, the negotiations on the US debt appeared on the verge of a positive turning point. “We have agreed that there will be no US default,” Joe Biden said at the White House of talks with Speaker Kevin McCarthy on the debt ceiling. Wall Street has reacted well to the renewed optimism on this very delicate dossier. The Nasdaq in particular closed at +1.71%, the S&P 500 at +0.88 percent. The Dow Jones is down slightly (-0.11%).
Usa, GDP and “core” inflation above estimates in the first quarter
The US data will only increase operators’ uncertainty: if in fact the American GDP increased more than expected in the first quarter, so did “core” inflation measured on the basis of consumer spending. In detail, the US gross domestic product increased at an annualized rate of 1.3% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the previous three months, after +2.6% in the fourth quarter of 2022. This is what emerges from the second reading of the data , higher than expectations which were for a confirmation of 1.1% in the first reading. PCE inflation, on the other hand, increased in the first quarter of 2023 from 3.7% the previous quarter to 4.2%, based on the second reading of US GDP, confirming the first reading. The ‘core’ figure, the one excluding energy and food product prices, increased from 4.4% to 5%, against expectations for a confirmation of 4.9% in the first reading. On the other hand, the data on claims for unemployment benefits was below expectations.
Thanks to the boom in AI, Nvidia beats expectations and raises estimates
A day of turmoil for the technology sector with the stoxx of the sector marking the best performance at a continental level after the semiconductor giant Nvidia Corp provided the market with a revenue estimate more than 50% higher than Wall Street forecasts. The title is indicated at +25% in the pre-Stock Exchange and marks the best performance in Milan prices, after saying it expects around 11 billion dollars in sales in the three months ending in July. The group is the largest manufacturer of GPU processors for AI, whose demand has exploded in the last period with the advent of generative technologies such as ChatGPT and Google Bard. The stock is pushing upwards especially in Amsterdam Asm International, Be Semiconductor and Asml. In Piazza Affari, purchases rewarded Technoprobe, while Stmicroelectronics lagged behind, less exposed to artificial intelligence.