Bearish European Markets, Mib Underperforms Among Peers

(Alliance News) - On Wednesday, European markets closed in negative territory, with the exception of the FTSE 100. In Italy, as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government grapples with its third financial maneuver, the Mib posted the sharpest decline among the major indices of the Old Continent.

The European Central Bank deemed its interest rate measures "appropriate," in contrast to the United States, where market players expect the Federal Reserve to deliver a double rate cut.

On the geopolitical front, uncertainty continues to loom over Kyiv following the shelving of a potential summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, who is set to begin his second term as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, 2025.

The Mib ended trading down 1.0% at 42,209.64 points. The Mid-Cap edged slightly lower to 57,384.64, the Small-Cap lost 0.3% to 36,757.36, and the Italy Growth index slipped 0.4% to 8,665.64 points.

Other markets also closed in the red with the exception of London's FTSE, which advanced 0.9%. Paris's CAC 40 and Frankfurt's DAX 40 both retreated 0.7%.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, noted, "There's a strong focus on the domestic market for today's FTSE 100 gainers. Persimmon and Howdens led the pack on hopes that homeowners may be more inclined to invest in renovations and moves, while Barclays joined the general UK optimism, appearing far more upbeat about the months ahead."

At Piazza Affari, DiaSorin delivered the best performance of the day, rising 2.6% to EUR77.94 per share after the company signed a supply agreement with Quest Diagnostics, a leading provider of diagnostic information services based in the US. Under the deal, DiaSorin will install 24 Liaison Plex systems across eight laboratories.

UniCredit's net profit beat expectations, reaching EUR8.7 billion for the first nine months, up nearly 13% year-on-year. In the third quarter alone, profit amounted to EUR2.6 billion, a 4.7% increase from the same period in 2024.

Andrea Orcel clarified, "Banking M&A is currently on hold," while the stock failed to capitalize on the results, slipping 2.3%.

Meanwhile, a draft agreement is ready for the EUR10 billion European satellite mega-consortium involving Leonardo (down 0.6%), Thales, and Airbus--a project aiming to rival Elon Musk's Starlink.

Saipem, up 1.3%, announced that its latest contracts total approximately USD135 million, strengthening the company's presence in key strategic areas such as West Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Far East.

Eni carried out a EUR50 million buyback, with the stock rising 1.5%.

Snam, which closed slightly higher by 0.1%, secured the Gold Standard recognition from the United Nations Environment Programme for the fifth consecutive year.

Banca Popolare di Sondrio and BPER Banca, down 4.3% and 2.8% respectively, weighed on the index after gains in the previous session.

On the Mid-Cap, Webuild announced that General Manager Massimo Ferrari purchased 50,000 ordinary shares at an average price of EUR3.3897 each, for a total outlay of EUR169,485. The stock climbed 0.6% to EUR3.364 per share.

MFE-MediaForEurope posted a strong performance, with class A shares up 2.5% and class B shares up 1.5%, after the company revealed that Marco Giordani will continue to serve in his current roles at MFE, even after being appointed CEO of the executive board at ProSiebenSat.1 Media.

NewPrinces suffered heavy losses of up to 20% after announcing the price range for the IPO of its wholly owned subsidiary Princes Group PLC. The indicative price was set between 475 and 590 pence per share, corresponding to an estimated market capitalization between GBP1.16 billion and GBP1.24 billion upon admission to trading on the London Stock Exchange.

ERG hit a new 52-week high at EUR22.98 per share, closing flat at EUR22.50.

In the Small-Cap segment, EEMS gained 1.5% after approving a name change to Ops Italia Spa, reflecting the new identity and industrial strategy outlined in the 2025-2028 plan.

Piquadro reported a slight increase in revenue for the first half, with consolidated sales of EUR88.4 million, up 0.7% year-on-year from EUR87.8 million in the previous period, including currency effects. The stock fell 0.4%.

Triboo surged 4.4% to EUR0.379 per share, while EPH plunged over 13% to EUR0.122 per share.

Among SMEs, Cofle posted a distinctly positive performance, jumping 16% to EUR3.80 per share.

First Capital--flat at EUR19.00--reported that its subsidiary First SICAF, the group's PIPE investment vehicle, completed the sale of 255,000 ALA shares, equal to 2.8% of the capital, to Wing BidCo, a company designated by Wing HoldCo, an affiliate of HIG Capital.

Alantra confirmed its buy recommendation and EUR11.80 target price on Distribuzione Elettrica Adriatica--flat at EUR7.75--which posted double-digit revenue growth in the first half, driven by network expansion and acquisitions, while maintaining resilient margins despite rising costs and regulatory challenges.

Matica Fintec--flat at EUR1.745 per share--announced on Tuesday the early repayment of its unsecured non-convertible bond issued on October 20, 2021. The amount repaid totaled EUR2.0 million, plus EUR369,509.20 in accrued interest as of the early extinguishment date.

Spindox--up 0.4%--approved all items on the agenda, with effectiveness subject to the closing of the deal with Progressio SGR, scheduled for October 22. The transaction involves Progressio Investimenti IV indirectly acquiring 74.1% of Spindox's capital.

Among the day's worst performers were Officina Stellare, down 7.8%, and Markbass, which fell 9.9%.

In New York, the Dow Jones was down 0.3%, the Nasdaq dropped 1.1%, and the S&P 500 slid 0.6%.

On the currency front, the euro traded at USD1.1614 compared to USD1.1609 at Tuesday's equity close, while the pound stood at USD1.3366 from USD1.3388 at the last European close.

In commodities, Brent crude traded at USD62.38 per barrel from USD61.10 per barrel at yesterday's close, while gold was valued at USD4,042.56 an ounce compared to USD4,137.55 an ounce the previous evening.

Thursday's economic calendar features Spain's trade balance at 1000 CEST, followed by UK industrial order data at 1200 CEST.

US jobless claims will be released at 1430 CEST, with ECB member Lane scheduled to speak at 1530 CEST, and Eurozone consumer sentiment data due at 1600 CEST.

At Piazza Affari, nine-month results are expected from Eni, MAIRE, Ferragamo, and four other companies.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter

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