European markets maintain momentum; MIB up with TIM

(Alliance News) - On Thursday, trading across major European markets maintained positive momentum, with the exception of London, reflecting geopolitical developments where the conflict between Iran and the US is showing signs - albeit faint - of de-escalation.

Investors are monitoring potential developments in negotiations between Washington and Tehran, while Brent crude prices have begun to decline significantly.

However, partly due to the war in the Middle East, the Eurozone economy is drifting away from the forecasts formulated by the ECB in March. Simultaneously, the possibility of a further interest rate hike is increasing, as stated by Piero Cipollone, a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank.

In this context, the MIB is up 0.1% at 49,737.12, the Mid-Cap is growing by 0.5% to 60,113.57, the Small-Cap is rising by 0.8% to 35,596.19, and Italy Growth is in positive territory by 0.3% at 8,936.61.

The CAC 40 is trading up 0.5% and the DAX 40 by 0.1%, while the FTSE 100 is contracting by 0.5%.

On Piazza Affari, Brunello Cucinelli is among the day's top performers, rising 2.5% to EUR87.12, while Campari, following its quarterly results, sits at the bottom of the basket with an 11% sell-off to EUR5.82 per share.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena - up 1.2% - announced on Thursday that Fabrizio Palermo, an independent director and member of the Related Party Transactions Committee, tendered his resignation late yesterday evening, effective immediately, citing disagreement with recent governance decisions.

UniCredit, up 1.8%, has signed a non-binding term sheet for the sale of part of the activities of its Russian subsidiary AO Bank. The lender informed that the buyer is a consolidated private investor based in the United Arab Emirates.

Iveco Group, seeing fractional gains at EUR13.98 per share, closed the first quarter of the year with an adjusted net loss from continuing operations of EUR74 million, compared to an adjusted net profit of EUR60 million in the first quarter of 2025, representing a negative variance of approximately 134%.

Nexi, up 0.2%, closed the first quarter of 2026 with revenues of EUR821.4 million, a 1.0% increase compared to EUR813.1 million in the first quarter of 2025, with underlying growth of 5% year-on-year.

Tenaris - with shares down 5.8% at the open - reported a first-quarter net profit of USD564 million, up from USD461 million in the same period of 2025. Revenues amounted to USD3.10 billion, an increase from USD2.92 billion in the prior-year period.

FinecoBank - up 0.2% - reported a first-quarter net profit of EUR162.2 million, down 1.2% from EUR164.2 million in the same period of 2025, weighed down by a higher tax rate linked to the 2-percentage-point increase in IRAP effective January 1, 2026.

Poste Italiane closed the first quarter of 2026 with a net profit of EUR617 million, up 3.3% compared to EUR597 million in the same period of 2025. The stock is attracting buyers, up 2.4%.

BPER Banca - contracting by 2.2% - announced that it closed the first quarter with a net profit of EUR547.1 million, a 21% increase compared to the EUR451.5 million recorded in the first three months of 2025. As of April 20, the acquisition of Banca Popolare di Sondrio has been finalized.

The board of Telecom Italia announced that the group closed the first quarter with a net loss of EUR292 million, widening from a negative result of EUR124 million in the first quarter of last year. The stock leads the opening gains, up 2.8%.

On the Mid-Cap, MAIRE - in positive territory by 1.2% - announced that Nextchem, through its nitrogen technology licensor Stamicarbon, was awarded a contract by AdvanSix for Licensing and the Process Design Package related to a new urea-to-Diesel Exhaust Fluid plant in Hopewell, Virginia.

The government could soon intervene in the Ferretti case, the luxury yachting group at the center of a debate involving industry, national security, and corporate governance. Following press rumors a few days ago regarding the possible transfer of Italian technologies to the Chinese nautical hub of Qingdao, controlled by majority shareholder Weichai, Lega MP Alberto Gusmeroli filed a parliamentary inquiry seeking clarification on the potential use of 'golden power' provisions. Ferretti is trading down 1.5%.

Revo Insurance is shedding 2.7% to EUR25.75 per share, while Ferragamo, in line with the luxury trend, gains 4.9% to lead the basket.

On the Small-Cap, Edison - moving in negative territory by 0.5% - announced on Thursday that it closed the first quarter of 2026 with a group net profit of EUR41 million, down from EUR139 million in the same period of 2025, while the net result from continuing operations stood at EUR53 million compared to EUR126 million.

Biesse, up 0.8%, announced that the board has resolved to appoint Stefano Porcellini as a director of the company via co-option.

Industrie De Nora, following its quarterly results, recorded the best performance at the open with gains of 4.6% to EUR7.66 per share.

Among SMEs, Maps - untraded - finalized the acquisition of 51% of the share capital of the newly formed Energy Audit Srl, through the subscription of a capital increase reserved for Maps Energy Srl totaling EUR187,347.00, of which EUR20,400.00 is nominal value and EUR166,947.00 is share premium.

Omer, up 2.6%, announced on Thursday that it has commenced operational activities for a new order from a major European player leading the sanitary systems sector.

Ubaldi Costruzioni, in the green by 2.5%, has given notice of termination of the specialist operator mandate to MIT SIM Spa, which will remain in office until August 31 inclusive. Simultaneously, the company has appointed Banca Akros Spa to the new role, effective September 1.

RedFish LongTerm Capital has finalized the acquisition of 100% of Stanhome, a company active in the direct sale of home, family, and beauty care products. The transaction was carried out through the vehicle Le Fonti Industrial Srl for a consideration of EUR21.2 million, of which EUR4.5 million is in the form of a vendor loan to be repaid by 2031. The stock is untraded.

In New York on Wednesday evening, the Dow gained 1.2%, the Nasdaq advanced 2.0%, and the S&P 500 rose 1.5%.

In Asia, the Nikkei closed up 5.8% at 62,962.50, the Hang Seng is trading up 1.5% at 26,607.50, while the Shanghai Composite ended trading up 0.5% at 4,180.09.

On the currency front, the euro is changing hands at USD1.1764 from USD1.1754 on Wednesday evening, while the pound trades at USD1.3617 from USD1.3598 yesterday evening.

Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD99.15 per barrel from USD101.71 per barrel on Wednesday evening, while gold is worth USD4,739.95 per ounce from USD4,693.70 per ounce yesterday evening.

On Thursday's economic calendar, at 1100 CEST, the focus is on Eurozone retail sales.

At 1430 CEST, attention turns to US jobless claims, while at 2230 CEST, the Federal Reserve's weekly balance sheet will be available.

Among Piazza Affari companies, results are expected from several firms, including Ascopiave, Azimut, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Mediobanca, Brembo, and Terna.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News reporter

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