(Alliance News) - On Thursday, European markets traded higher, buoyed by optimism over ongoing EU-US tariff negotiations and the possibility that talks could reduce the 30% tariffs on the European Union previously estimated by Donald Trump.
On the macroeconomic front, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that both import and export prices rose on a monthly basis. Import prices increased by 0.1% in June compared to May, after a 0.4% decline in May versus April.
However, the increase fell short of expectations for a 0.3% rise.
Additionally, the Eurozone inflation rate, as forecast, ticked up to 2% from the previous 1.9%--remaining in line with the European Central Bank's target.
Consequently, the FTSE Mib closed up 0.9% at 40,128.70 points, the Mid-Cap rose 1.0% to 55,429.13, the Small-Cap advanced 1.1% to 32,068.01, and the Italy Growth index ended just below flat at 8,272.74 points.
Elsewhere, Paris's CAC 40 finished up 1.1%, Frankfurt's DAX 40 gained 1.2%, and London's FTSE 100 rose 0.6%.
Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG, commented: "Who needs to worry about tariffs when Americans keep spending? Strong retail sales were enough to put equity markets back on track, encouraging investors to forget Powell's drama from 24 hours ago."
"Jobless claims also beat expectations, providing another reason to return to US equities. The news lifted European markets as well, although reports of potential tariff retaliation remind us the issue is not yet resolved," the analyst concluded.
Among blue chips, Prysmian led the pack with a 5.5% increase to EUR64.18 per share. STMicroelectronics also performed well, climbing 3.0% to EUR27.665 per share.
Italgas rose 2.5% to EUR7.075 per share after renewing a decarbonization agreement with Cadent.
Stellantis ended the session up 2.1%. The company announced Wednesday it would halt its hydrogen fuel cell technology development program due to a lack of market prospects.
The automaker stated it does not expect hydrogen-powered light commercial vehicles to be adopted before the end of the decade.
Buzzi closed down 3.6%, and BPER Banca followed with a 1.6% drop after confirming it holds over 58% of Banca Popolare Sondrio shares, which themselves fell 2.0%.
Meanwhile, after the European Commission "dismantled" the Italian government's Golden Power regarding UniCredit's bid for BPM, negotiations are underway with Consob to postpone the public exchange offer. UniCredit shares rose 1.1%, while Banco BPM gained 0.6%.
On the Mid-Cap, El.en closed up 5.4% at EUR11.87 per share.
Sesa, which reported half-year revenues of EUR3.35 billion--up 4.6% year-on-year--ended the session down 15%, marking the day's worst performance.
Webuild--up 1.2%--announced a new contract win for Lane, its US subsidiary, which secured a USD337 million (EUR288 million) deal for design and construction work to expand and modernize Interstate 85 in Gaston County, North Carolina.
WIIT announced Thursday it continued its buyback program, purchasing 3,000 shares between July 7 and 11 at an average price of EUR15.30 per share, for a total of EUR45,900. The stock closed down 0.6%.
On the Small-Cap, Olidata stole the spotlight with a 20% jump after Consob exempted the company from monthly disclosure requirements.
Olidata chairman Cristiano Rufini commented, "Exiting the blacklist is another important milestone, adding to the successful conclusion of the restructuring procedure and the relisting of our shares on the regulated market."
Cy4gate gained 2.2% to EUR4.97 after announcing Thursday it had signed an 18-month contract worth EUR9.9 million with a major European institutional client for the acquisition of Decision Intelligence technologies and solutions.
Somec closed flat at EUR13.90 after updating commercial agreements worth over EUR57 million for its Horizons division, which focuses on engineered systems for naval architecture and civil facades.
Mondo TV slipped 3.8%, extending its negative performance over the past 30 days, during which it dropped 17%.
Fiera Milano, which set a new 52-week high at EUR6.05 on Wednesday, fell 0.5%.
Among SMEs, Destination Italia saw heavy buying, with shares up 9.8%, while Doxee rose 3.4%.
Svas Biosana--untraded on Thursday--finalized the acquisition of a 51% stake in Mehos, a Milan-based company specializing in the distribution of medical devices, particularly for public healthcare facilities.
Directa SIM reported a record first half of 2025 in its three key growth drivers: client numbers, total assets, and number of executions. The stock closed down 0.7%.
RedFish LongTerm Capital--up 0.4%--announced it had strengthened its presence in the aerospace sector. Through its subsidiary Movinter, RFLTC finalized the acquisition of 91.5% of Alpi Aviation, a historic Friuli-based producer of light aircraft, helicopters, and unarmed drones.
Nusco ended the trading day at the bottom, down 7.0% to EUR1.07 per share.
In New York, the Dow Jones was up 0.2%, the Nasdaq advanced 0.6%, and the S&P 500 gained 0.3%.
In currency markets, the euro traded at USD1.1588, down from USD1.1690 at Wednesday's close, while the pound stood at USD1.3410, compared to USD1.3458 on Wednesday evening.
In commodities, Brent crude traded at USD68.57, up from USD67.93 per barrel at the previous close, while gold was valued at USD3,333.635, down from USD3,360.11 per ounce on Wednesday evening.
Looking ahead to Friday's economic calendar, at 0030 CEST, a speech by FED's Waller is expected, followed at 0130 CEST by Japan's consumer price index.
At 0800 CEST, Germany's producer price index data is due, and at 1100 CEST, attention turns to Eurozone construction output.
At 1430 CEST in the US, focus will be on housing data, followed by a commodities report at 2130 CEST.
At 2130 CEST, the weekly CFTC report will provide a detailed analysis of net positions for "non-commercial" traders in US futures markets.
From Piazza Affari, half-year results from Arterra Bioscience are awaited.
By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter
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