European Markets Close Higher; Mib Leads with Utilities

(Alliance News) - On Thursday, major European markets regained momentum, closing trading in positive territory and following Wall Street's lead in the aftermath of Nvidia's earnings, which beat expectations.

While the unemployment rate in the US has climbed to its highest level since 2011, construction output in the Eurozone fell in September, with Italy bucking the trend.

In this context, the Mib ended trading up 0.6% at 42,917.64 points, the Mid-Cap gained 0.8% to 57,548.83, the Small-Cap rose 0.8% to 35,032.33, while Italy Growth was slightly negative at 8,337.48 points.

Other markets also closed positive: the CAC 40 up 0.4%, the DAX 40 up 0.6%, and London's FTSE 100 up 0.2%.

"Now that we've moved past Nvidia's earnings and payrolls," commented Chris Beachamp of IG, "it seems that markets may recover. It's remarkable that a drop of just 5% can restore enough sentiment for markets to react positively to earnings, but that's what has happened."

"Stocks are up, almost uniformly across the board, while volatility is down. This is classic risk-on behavior. If investors are still worried that the Fed won't cut rates in December, they're not showing it," the analyst concluded.

On Piazza Affari, Banco BPM's major shareholders, up 0.5%, are preparing for the board renewal in the spring, with a focus on Credit Agricole and the pact between banking foundations.

The French group, now close to a 20% stake, could get approval from the ECB to increase its holding up to 29.9% by 2026, becoming central to governance.

UniCredit also saw gains, up 1.4% to EUR62.84 per share.

BPER closed down 0.2%, despite denying any interest from UniCredit. The bank is strengthening its defenses, while the possibility of EU infringement proceedings against the Italian government over the use of Golden Power remains in the background.

STMicroelectronics - which fell 2.1% - and TSE signed a physical power purchase agreement for the supply of renewable electricity from solar parks to STM sites in France.

TSE will provide STMicroelectronics with renewable energy generated from three solar parks in France, managed by TSE, totaling about 43 MW. This 15-year contract, starting in 2027, represents a total volume of approximately 780 GWh.

The energy sector led the index with strong buying in A2A, up 2.2%, Hera up 3.1%, and Italgas up 2.2%.

Leonardo also performed well, rising 2.9%. Alongside EDGE Group, the company has outlined the general principles for establishing a new joint venture in the United Arab Emirates, planned for 2026.

Stellantis ended the session at the bottom of the index, down 3.0%.

On the Mid-Cap, CIR - which gained 6.5% - announced that, together with F2i, it has reached a binding agreement for CIR to acquire F2i Healthcare's 40.2% stake in KOS. F2i Healthcare is 61.4% owned by F2i. The purchase price for the shares is EUR220.0 million.

MFE-MediaForEurope closed the first nine months with a net profit of EUR243.1 million, up from EUR96.2 million as of September 30, 2024. Class A and B shares gained 2.2% and 1.3%, respectively.

NewPrinces ended at the bottom of the index, down 6.0%.

On the Small-Cap, Banca Sistema, down 0.1%, received payment of EUR103 million from the municipality that was the final recipient of a European Court of Human Rights ruling and has since exited financial distress.

Piquadro, up 1.3%, closed the six months to September 30 with a profit of EUR5.1 million, up from EUR5.0 million a year earlier. Consolidated revenues rose to EUR88.4 million from EUR87.8 million, with the Piquadro brand declining to EUR36.6 million from EUR39.8 million.

I Grandi Viaggi saw double-digit gains, up 11% to EUR2.21 per share.

Among SMEs, Espe gained 2.7%. The company signed two contracts with new Italian clients for the construction of two advanced agrivoltaic plants: one in Bologna province for 9.8 MWp and EUR6.0 million, and another in Treviso province for 5.2 MWp and EUR4.5 million.

Circle launched a EUR300,000 strategic project with a leading Mediterranean group active in terminal and shipping services, aimed at digitally transforming its logistics processes in line with European standards and the objectives of the PNRR. The stock closed down 1.9%.

First Capital approved the distribution of an extraordinary dividend of EUR1.75 per share, with a dividend yield above 9%, totaling approximately EUR6.1 million from the extraordinary profit reserve of previous years. The stock was down 0.5%.

The board of Siav, up 1.5%, approved the voluntary liquidation of its foreign subsidiaries Mitric SA and Siav Suisse Sagl, both in Switzerland, and Siav East Europe Srl in Romania, as well as the closure of the Manno branch.

The stakes, held 100%, will be deconsolidated from the 2026 financial statements, with completion of the operations expected by December 31, 2025.

Nusco saw strong buying, up 16% to EUR0.855 per share. Più Medical debuted on the stock exchange, closing down 3.2%.

In New York, the Dow is up 0.7%, the Nasdaq rises 0.7%, and the S&P 500 is up 0.7%.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1535, compared to USD1.1536 at Wednesday's equity close, while the pound is at USD1.3094, up from USD1.3076 last night.

Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD63.31 per barrel, down from USD63.35 at Wednesday's close, while gold is valued at USD4,064.35 an ounce, down from USD4,075.54 an ounce Wednesday evening.

On Friday's economic calendar, at 0800 CET, focus in the UK will be on retail sales and net lending, while at 0915 CET the French manufacturing index is expected, followed at 0930 CET by the German index.

The same index for the entire Eurozone will be assessed at 1000 CET, while Spanish consumer confidence will be released at 1300 CET.

From 1445 CET, speeches from Fed governors are expected, while the focus on the US economy comes at 1600 CET with reports on new housing starts, manufacturing, and industrial production.

At 1900 CET, Baker Hughes data on the total number of extraction rigs will be released.

In Piazza Affari, nine-month results from DHH are expected.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter

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