Listen to the audio version of the article
(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – European stocks looking for direction in the final trading week of the year as investors bet on at least two interest rate cuts by the Fed in 2026. In this sense, we await the minutes that will be published on Tuesday 30 December relating to the last meeting of the institute led by Jerome Powell. There is also a wait for the labor market numbers, with ADP weekly employed persons and data on unemployment benefits.
The prospects of monetary policy easing, combined with geopolitical uncertainties, continue to fuel the rally in precious metals, with the new silver record above 80 dollars an ounce. All eyes are also on the geopolitical front, with possible developments linked to the peace negotiations for Ukraine. Thus, the FTSE MIB of Milan, the CAC 40 of Paris, the DAX 30 of Frankfurt and the other European indices are moving with caution.
Leonardo and Fincantieri slip into Milan
On the stock market, Defense stocks are heavy on Piazza Affari, in line with the European sector: Leonardo – Finmeccanica leads the declines, followed by Fincantieri, but both stocks they are preparing to close a record-breaking 2025. The new prospects for peace in Ukraine are weighing on the sector, following the weekend talks between President Zelensky and his US counterpart, Donald Trump. Thus in Frankfurt Rheinmetall slips, while in Paris sales hit Thales. Returning to Milanese stocks, the purchases instead support Diasorin and Nexi. Prysmian is under observation after a joint venture led by the cable company and Fincantieri signed an agreement for the acquisition of Xtera Topco Limited, active in “turnkey” submarine telecommunications systems.
Crude oil rises on geopolitical tensions, gas also rises
On the currency market, the euro/dollar is little moved, firm well above 1.17. On the energy front, the price of oil is rising after the peace negotiations for Ukraine held in Florida over the weekend did not bring definitive results and in light of the declarations of the Chinese government which seems intent on intervening to support the economy of the People’s Republic next year: the WTI rises to over 57 dollars a barrel and the Brent is above 61 dollars. The price of natural gas in Amsterdam is also progressing, aiming for 29 euros per megawatt hour.
Silver retraces after record, gold towards best year since 1979
On the precious metals front, silver retreats after hitting a new record above 80 dollars an ounce. Since the beginning of the year, the gain has been over 160%. Already on Friday 26 December, silver had exceeded the symbolic threshold of 75 dollars an ounce for the first time ever, while precious metals reach unprecedented levelssupported in particular by economic and geopolitical uncertainty. At the moment, however, investors, tempted by profit-taking, have started to sell. This is how they happen made on platinum and palladiumwhich in turn had recorded new highs in recent hours, and on spot gold (which remains close to 4,480 dollars an ounce), which in any case is about to close best year since 1979 with a progress of over 70%.
Related News :