Equities trend higher; banks lead gains on the MIB

(Alliance News) - European stock markets opened higher on Thursday, amid a backdrop of mixed geopolitical signals and anticipation for next week's ECB meeting. The market is pricing in a high probability of a 25 bps hike by the ECB on June 11, with expectations of further tightening throughout the year.

On the Middle Eastern front, investors weighed the escalation between the US and Iran, including the claim of an attack on a US command ship in the Gulf of Oman, balanced by the US House vote to halt military operations against Tehran.

In parallel, the conditional ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon mitigates the risk of immediate escalation, despite continued assertive rhetoric from Israeli officials.

Consequently, the MIB is marking a 0.1% gain at 50,108.43 points.

Other European indices are also in positive territory, with the CAC 40 advancing 0.5% and the FTSE 100 up 0.1%, while the DAX 40 rises 0.4%.

Among the smaller indices, the Mid-Cap is up 0.2% at 62,168.09 points, the Small-Cap gains 0.4% to 35,805.93 points, while Italy Growth is moving slightly above par at 9,141.57 points.

On Piazza Affari, among the blue chips, Campari is among the gainers, advancing 2.1% to EUR5.48 per share after five sessions closed in the red.

BPER Banca - up 0.9% - announced on Wednesday that Morningstar DBRS has upgraded its long-term issuer rating outlook from stable to positive, confirming the rating at 'BBB (high)'. The outlook upgrade and the confirmation of credit ratings 'reflect the strength of the commercial network, adequate asset quality, solid profitability and capital position of the bank, as well as the progress made in the integration of Banca Popolare di Sondrio Spa', the rating agency stated.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena - up 0.3% - announced on Thursday that it has completed the placement of a new 'Senior Preferred Unsecured' bond issue, fixed-rate with a 3-year maturity - expiring in 2029 - and a call option after 2 years, for an amount of EUR500 million. The transaction recorded orders of approximately EUR2 billion thanks to high interest from leading Italian and international institutional investors.

Banco BPM - up 0.4% - announced on Thursday that it has decided to exercise its right of early redemption for its 'EUR300 million Callable Subordinated Tier 2 Notes due 29 June 2031', issued in June 2021 and placed with institutional investors. The security will be called at par on June 29, 2026, and bondholders will receive interest accrued up to that date.

UniCredit advances 1.4%: Commerzbank on Wednesday described the information contained in the public tender offer launched by UniCredit as 'misleading'.

The Frankfurt-based bank stated that the data reported by UniCredit in the offer documentation is 'misleading in the absence of supporting explanations and raises suspicions of operations aimed at creating a false impression of an artificially inflated position, which needs to be investigated'.

In the mid-cap segment, BFF Bank pushes its price up 3.0% to EUR2.68 per share, rebounding after three bearish sessions.

Good buying interest is also seen for Ariston Holding, which marks a 1.4% gain at EUR3.34 per share, in its third consecutive bullish session.

MAIRE - bullish with a 3.8% gain - announced on Thursday that its subsidiary Tecnimont has been awarded additional works worth approximately USD900 million, related to a large-scale onshore project previously awarded and announced on May 20. The additional works are aimed at supporting the optimization of existing Oil & Gas plants.

At the bottom of the list is Pirelli, which retreats 4.3%, following a 1.8% loss the previous day. The company - with a market cap of just under EUR6.4 billion - shows a loss of just under 7% over the last five sessions.

On the Small-Cap index, Olidata advances 6.6%. The stock - which shows a loss of over 28% in 2026 - is appreciating following the previous day's gain of 8.4%.

CY4Gate - up 3.6% - announced on Thursday that it has been awarded a three-year contract worth a total of approximately EUR9.0 million with a leading European institutional client for the supply of technologies and evolutionary activities in the field of Decision Intelligence.

TXT e-solutions - up 2.9% - continues its buyback plan. Most recently, the company announced on Wednesday that it purchased 2,990 treasury shares between May 18 and 20, for a total value of approximately EUR104,000.

Trailing behind is Beewize, which sheds 5.2% to EUR0.36 per share after a 1.1% gain in the previous session.

Among SMEs, Eprcomunicazione advances 4.3%, bringing the price to EUR1.32 per share.

Circle - up 3.7% - announced on Wednesday the signing of two contracts totaling approximately EUR250,000 for the evolution of digital systems supporting port rail intermodality. The agreements concern evolutionary activities and management services within a co-financed project, with particular reference to increasing the functionalities of the Extended Port Community System and strengthening digital tools to support port and intermodal rail management.

Com.Tel - up 2.4% - approved the acquisition of 52% of ATS Assistance Technical Service for EUR3.9 million and the purchase of the remaining 40% of Novanext, of which it already holds 60%, accelerating the group's growth and consolidation path.

Laboratorio Farmaceutico Erfo, however, sheds 2.6%, with year-to-date data showing a 25% decline in market cap.

In New York, during the European evening, the Dow retreated 1.2%, the Nasdaq shed 0.9%, while the S&P 500 closed down 0.7%.

Among Asian markets, the Nikkei finished with a 1.4% loss, the Shanghai Composite closed down 0.6%, while the Hang Seng retreats 1.4%.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1604 from USD1.1605 on Wednesday evening, while the pound exchanges at USD1.3420 from USD1.3434 yesterday evening.

Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD97.00 per barrel from USD97.94 on Wednesday evening, while gold is worth USD4,465.74 per ounce from USD4,441.45 at yesterday evening's close.

On Thursday's economic calendar, from the US at 1430 CEST, focus will be on jobless claims, and a speech by the FOMC's Barkin is scheduled.

No significant events are scheduled on the Piazza Affari corporate calendar.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

Comments and questions to [e-mail]

Copyright 2026 Alliance News IS Italian Service Ltd. All rights reserved.