European Stocks in Positive Territory, STM Shines on the Mib

(Alliance News) - On Friday, markets continued to trade higher.

Inflation in Germany rose by 2.3% year-on-year in November, matching the level recorded in October.

The UK economy contracted in October and in the quarter ending in October: gross domestic product is estimated to have fallen by 0.1% in October, mirroring the decline seen in September, and coming in below the market consensus indicated by FXStreet, which had forecast a 0.1% increase.

Following the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points, next week it will be the turn of the ECB, which is expected to keep its monetary policy unchanged.

The Mib is up 0.5% at 43,925.13 points, the Mid-Cap gains 0.7% at 58,824.56, the Small-Cap rises 0.5% at 38,375.86, and Italy Growth advances 0.3% at 8,452.45 points.

Other bourses are also positive: Paris's CAC up 0.7%, Frankfurt's DAX up 0.4%, and London's FTSE 100 up 0.2%.

At Piazza Affari, less than a year after the framework agreement, Generali – down 0.1% – has decided to withdraw from the planned partnership with Natixis in asset management.

Poste Italiane, up 0.3%, has completed the acquisition of the remaining stake held by Vivendi SE in Telecom Italia, which is up 0.3%. The transaction involves 384.1 million ordinary shares, equal to 2.5% of ordinary share capital and 1.8% of TIM's total share capital.

The total consideration amounts to EUR187 million and, following the purchase, Poste Italiane's stake in TIM will rise from 24.8% to 27.3% of ordinary shares, equal to 19.6% of total capital.

The conclusion of the European Central Bank's review, conducted together with Bankitalia and other national central banks, on Credit Agricole's request to exceed 20% in Banco BPM – up 0.3% – has been postponed to mid-January, with a possible green light up to 29.9% that could open new scenarios in Italian banking consolidation.

Good buying on Lottomatica, up 1.8%, and STMicroelectronics, up 1.9%, while Inwit falls 0.5%.

On the Mid-Cap, MFE-MediaForEurope is preparing an integration and turnaround plan for Prosiebensat with the stated goal of not intervening on employment, a move described as bold while in Germany Rtl Group has just announced 600 layoffs. Class A shares are up 0.7%, while class B shares gain 1.1%.

Danieli & C announced that Steel Authority of India Limited, the largest public steel producer in India under the aegis of the Indian Ministry of Steel, has chosen the company as a partner for the supply of the main technological plants that will be part of the new integrated steel plant at the IISCO Steel Plant in Burnpur, West Bengal. The EUR500 million contract is driving a 6.9% gain in the stock.

Banca Ifis, up 0.9%, announced the appointment of Riccardo Preve and Moroelllo Diaz della Vittoria Pallavicini as new board members. The two new directors will replace outgoing Giovanni Meruzzi and Monica Regazzi.

On the Small-Cap, major international funds are pushing for a restructuring of Edison – based on the preferred equity model, with special shares offering governance rights and privileged returns, a formula already successfully adopted by Eni for Plenitude and Enilive and by F2i for Sorgenia.

Aeffe will not be able to provide further data as of September 30 beyond what was released on November 11. The company and its subsidiary Pollini Spa have recently entered into the negotiated crisis composition procedure and the 2025-2029 industrial restructuring plan is still being drafted. The stock drops 1.8%.

Piquadro, down 0.4%, has received confirmation from Standard Ethics of its Corporate Standard Ethics Rating at 'EE-' with a 'positive' outlook. The rating agency, active internationally in sustainable finance and ESG assessment, recognized the group's progress in managing key risk factors, from supply chain to health and safety, as well as environmental aspects.

Heavy selling also on Dexelance, which falls 9.3% to EUR4.95 per share.

Among SMEs, eVISO reported a sharp strengthening of volumes in the reseller channel in December, with significant improvement over the previous month.

Gas volumes rose by 76%, reaching 40 GWh from 23 GWh in November, while power volumes grew by 3%, reaching 789 GWh compared to the previous 767 GWh. The stock gains 2.3%.

Innovatec, up 2.1%, has signed a purchase agreement, for a total value of EUR5.0 million, for the remaining 49% stake in its subsidiary Innovatec Energy, held by reference shareholder Sostenya Group.

In addition, a shareholder loan of around EUR3.9 million from Sostenya Group to Innovatec has been signed.

Giglio.com, with no trades, announced Thursday the results of the shopping season, indicating a marked recovery in luxury and fashion consumption between November 1 and December 5. The company recorded a 12% increase in Gross Merchandising Value compared to 2024, surpassing EUR10.5 million, and showing improvement despite the unfavorable context linked to the strength of the Euro and tariffs in the USA.

Good buying on Ecosuntek, up 1.7% at EUR2.34 per share.

In New York, the Dow Jones rose 1.4% to 48,704.01, the Nasdaq slipped 0.3% to 23,593.86 while the S&P 500 climbed 0.2% to 6,901.00 points.

On the currency front, the euro changes hands at USD1.1726 from USD1.1747 at Thursday's equity close, while the pound trades at USD1.3372 from USD1.3419 last night.

Among commodities, Brent trades at USD61.18 a barrel from USD60.88 at yesterday's close, while gold is worth USD4,327.21 an ounce from USD4,256.54 an ounce last night.

On Friday's economic calendar, US commodity data will be released from 2130 CET.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter

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