European Markets Hit Record Highs, STM Leads on Milan's Mib

(Alliance News) – On Tuesday, the main European stock exchanges closed in positive territory, with the exception of the Mib, on a record-breaking day for Frankfurt's DAX 40, which hit an all-time high, as did the FTSE 100 and the Mib itself, which pared gains after reaching yet another peak since 2002 midway through the session.

On the macroeconomic front, the Eurozone's private sector economy closed 2025 with its twelfth consecutive month of expansion, completing the strongest quarter since the second quarter of 2023, albeit with a loss of momentum in December, according to a survey by Hamburg Commercial Bank compiled by S&P Global.

The composite PMI fell to 51.5 in December from 52.8 in November, marking a three-month low but remaining above the 50 threshold.

In Italy, the services PMI dropped to 51.5 in December, compared to November's two-and-a-half-year high of 55.0, coming in below market expectations of 54.

Thus, the Mib ended trading down 0.2% at 45,753.43, the Mid-Cap rose 1.0% to 60,083.76, the Small-Cap gained 0.2% to 37,407.63, and the Italy Growth index closed up 0.2% at 8,833.96.

Paris's CAC 40 rose by 0.3%, Frankfurt's DAX 40 climbed 0.1%, and London's FTSE 100 finished up by 1.2%.

IG analysts noted, "The Dow Jones and the Dax have hit record highs, and today the FTSE 100 joined the party, just a week after its last record. Much of the positivity comes from the rebound of GSK and AstraZeneca, which rose after this morning's news, while Next continues to enjoy a recovery after some difficult months."

"European inflation data also played an important role, giving hope that the ECB will join the easing campaigns run by the Fed and the BoE, reinforcing the impression that concerns over earnings will be offset by supportive monetary policy," concluded Chris Beauchamp of IG.

On Piazza Affari, Lottomatica – down 1.7% – closes 2025 with solid results and prepares for another year of growth, with the group led by Guglielmo Angelozzi aiming to finalize an acquisition in the European online gaming segment.

According to data released by the Customs and Monopolies Agency, online casino bets in Italy grew by 18% in December to EUR333.7 million, compared to EUR281.9 million in the same period of 2024.

Eni, down 0.9%, announced that from January 1, 2026, the Refining Evolution & Transformation business unit has been transferred to the new Eni Industrial Evolution, a company established to manage traditional assets such as refineries and depots in Europe and the Middle East and to strengthen the path of industrial transformation, also with a focus on the circular economy.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena – down 2.2% – is revising its bylaws not as a mere technical intervention after the EUR14 billion OPAS on Mediobanca, which fell by 1.3%.

Shareholders will be called to vote on significant changes ranging from the adoption of the board of directors' list to reducing profit reserves to 5%, raising bonus caps, and removing term limits for directors.

The U.S. automotive market is expected to close 2025 with better-than-expected results: Stellantis, down 2.1%, however, expects to end 2025 in the U.S. with about 1.26 million vehicles sold, a 3% drop compared to over 1.3 million in 2024.

The list was led by DiaSorin, up 3.7%, and STMicroelectronics, up 5.3%.

BPM also saw a 2.4% decline.

On the Mid-Cap, Avio continued to show strength, in line with defense stocks after geopolitical tensions in Latin America and at the EU's doorstep. The stock gained 4.6% to EUR34.15 per share.

Pirelli also performed well, up 3.8% to EUR6.154 after Bernstein upgraded it to 'outperform' from 'market perform', raising the target price to EUR7.00 from EUR5.20.

Webuild was up 2.2%, while Carel Industries fell 3.4% and LU-VE dropped 1.1%.

Juventus, after sanctions from Consob, albeit reduced, against the company and former executives, slipped 0.3%.

On the Small-Cap, Guglielmo Marconi Airport of Bologna – up 1.5% – closed a record 2025, with over 11 million passengers registered, a 3.4% increase over the previous year.

AbitareIn saw strong buying, finishing among the top of the basket with a 5.9% gain to EUR2.975 per share.

Aeffe, down 2.1%, regarding the company's and its subsidiary Pollini's negotiated crisis resolution procedure, announced that following the confirmation of protective measures as per the December 11 statement, Judge Antonella Rimondini granted Aeffe and Pollini's request for additional precautionary measures.

Zest posted one of the day's best performances on the list, up 7.4% to EUR0.1375, while Seri Industrial was also among the worst, down 3.2%.

Among SMEs, Ubaldi Costruzioni granted a total of 190,680 free ordinary shares of the company.

Specifically, 1 bonus share was granted for every 5 ordinary shares purchased as part of the offer for admission to trading on Euronext Growth Milan. The stock closed up 0.7%.

Regarding the mandatory public tender offer for all ordinary and multiple voting shares of Eles, which gained 0.9%, Mare Group – up 0.7% – decided to grant Eles shareholders who accepted the offer an additional three open trading days to possibly revoke their acceptances. The new payment date for the offer is set for January 12.

Cloudia Research – up 6.7% – agreed to the mutual termination of the contract for Euronext Growth Advisor activities with illimity Bank of the Banca Ifis group.

Circle Group secured a EUR250,000 order from a major national logistics operator for technological evolution and automation of two lanes with Totem for remote management in a multipurpose terminal at a Mediterranean port. The stock was down 0.2%.

Farmacosmo surged into double digits, up 18%. Planetel fell 4.8% to EUR4.00 per share.

In New York, the Dow Jones was up 0.4%, the Nasdaq 0.1%, and the S&P500 0.2%.

On the currency front, the euro traded at USD1.1688 from USD1.1710 at Monday's close in European equity trading, while the pound traded at USD1.3498 from USD1.3511 last night.

Among commodities, Brent traded at USD61.63 per barrel from USD61.60 per barrel at Monday's close in European equity trading, while gold was valued at USD4,484.32 an ounce from USD4,444.67 an ounce last night.

On Wednesday's economic calendar, at 0800 CET, German retail sales data will be published, followed at 0845 CET by the French consumer confidence index.

At 0930 CET, the Italian construction PMI is expected, alongside the Eurozone's construction PMI.

German labor analysis is scheduled for 1000 CET, along with Italy's public deficit figures.

Focus shifts to the Eurozone from 1100 CET with the consumer price index, while from 1300 CET attention moves to U.S. mortgages and then, at 1600 CET, to U.S. manufacturing. From 1630 CET, focus is on EIA.

No significant announcements are expected on Piazza Affari.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter

Comments and questions to [e-mail]

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