(Alliance News) – Major European markets closed lower on Tuesday, with the exception of the DAX, which finished just above flat at 25,411.44 points.
Geopolitical uncertainties in Venezuela and Iran continue to dominate the scene, along with developments regarding Greenland, with a meeting between Denmark and the USA scheduled for Wednesday.
Another source of instability is the tension between the Federal Reserve and the White House, with investigations into Jerome Powell nearing the end of his term. Meanwhile, US inflation remained nearly unchanged in December at 2.7%.
The Mib ended trading down 0.5% at 45,525.10 points, the Mid-Cap dropped 0.2% to 60,692.95, the Small-Cap lost 0.4% to 37,663.46, and the Italy Growth index fell 0.4% to 8,821.87 points.
The CAC 40 closed down 0.1%, the FTSE 100 slipped 0.1%, and the DAX 40 finished fractionally in positive territory.
"Apart from Japan's Nikkei 225," ING analysts observed, "which rose over 3% ahead of February's snap elections and reached new all-time highs, most indices declined on Tuesday."
"Despite the slowdown in the US core consumer price index, which bolstered expectations of a Fed rate cut, strong earnings from JPMorgan, and a slight improvement in the World Bank's global growth outlook, investor fatigue seems to have set in," Axel Rudolph concluded.
For some stocks on Piazza Affari, remarks by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani were encouraging: Italian companies, including Eni, he told the Senate, could play a key role in Venezuela. Eni shares closed up 2.2% at EUR16.426 each.
The market appears to appreciate the Italian government's intention to exit Monte dei Paschi di Siena – up 1.3% – and once again rewarded Rocca Salimbeni's stock. Nevertheless, the government intends to remain the architect behind a "third banking hub," behind Intesa, which slipped fractionally to EUR5.99 per share, and UniCredit, which rose 0.4%.
The third hub project is still evolving. It could also involve Crédit Agricole, now Banco BPM's largest shareholder – Banco BPM fell 0.4% – creating some discomfort for the government, which had previously halted UniCredit, accusing it of being "a foreign bank," in the words of Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini.
Telecom Italia – down 1.3% – and Warner Bros Discovery announced a new strategic partnership for the launch of HBO Max in Italy. Thanks to this multi-year agreement, the HBO Max app is coming to TIMVision.
The board of Unipol Assicurazioni – down 1.2% – authorized the issuance of benchmark-sized Restricted Tier 1 subordinated bonds, to be issued in dematerialized form and centralized at Euronext Securities Milan.
Vado announced a partnership with Nexi – down 1.8% – to integrate the paytech's payment infrastructure into VadoPay, the technology that allows operators to accept online payments without additional hardware or apps, via QR code and digital checkout.
Buzzi fell 7.2% to EUR50.60. Saipem performed well, gaining 4.4% to EUR2.71 per share.
On the Mid-Cap, Ferretti, which set a new 52-week high at EUR3.62 per share, signed a strategic agreement with AAA Marine, which becomes the exclusive dealer for the Ferretti Yachts, Riva, Pershing, and Itama brands in the United Arab Emirates and Oman. The stock rose by 3.2%.
The Royal Commission for Riyadh City announced it has awarded the contract for the Red Line extension to a consortium led by Webuild, down 0.3%, together with India's L&T, Saudi Arabia's NESMA, and France's Alstom.
LU-VE – down 1.7% – closed last year's fourth quarter with sales up 10% year-on-year to EUR163.3 million. The order backlog rose 34% to EUR233.7 million.
MAIRE – down 0.9% – announced Tuesday that Nextchem, through its subsidiary Stamicarbon, a licensor of nitrogen fertilizer technology, has secured two contracts in China, leveraging its proprietary technology portfolio.
d'Amico led the gainers, rising 4.9% to EUR5.85 per share.
On the Small-Cap, Rai Kids signed a pre-purchase agreement with Mondo TV – which soared 34% – for the second season of Grisù.
OPS eCom formalized an irrevocable binding offer to acquire Aleo, active in express courier, logistics, and freight transport services. The offer provides for a maximum total consideration of EUR120,000. The stock jumped 30%.
Aeffe continued to decline, down 5.8% to EUR0.2865 per share.
Among SMEs, Pozzi Milano – down 0.7% – announced the completion of the merger by incorporation of its wholly owned subsidiary Mascagni Casa into Pozzi Milano.
Circle Group – down 0.2% – signed a 12-month contract with a major intermodal transport operator for the development of the MILOS MTO and TFP platforms, worth around EUR315,000.
EdiliziAcrobatica – up 0.4% – acknowledged the resignations of statutory auditor Francesco Cinaglia and Raffaella Oldoini. As of today, Carla Borgioli assumes the role of statutory auditor on the Board of Statutory Auditors.
Mevim surged by 40% to EUR0.17 per share. Intred fell sharply, down 7.9% to EUR9.90 per share.
In New York, the Dow Jones dropped 0.6%, the S&P 500 fell 0.3%, and the Nasdaq slipped 0.2%.
On the currency front, the euro traded at USD1.1638 from USD1.1679 at Monday's close in Europe, while the pound traded at USD1.3429 from USD1.3470 Monday evening.
Among commodities, Brent traded at USD65.80 per barrel from USD63.53 per barrel at Monday's European close, while gold was valued at USD4,595.58 an ounce from USD4,614.66 an ounce Monday evening.
On Wednesday's economic calendar, Chinese import-export data will be published at 0400 CET. In the US, mortgage data is expected at 1300 CET and the retail sales report at 1430 CET.
No significant announcements are expected from Piazza Affari.
By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter
Comments and questions to redazione@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2026 Alliance News IS Italian Service Ltd. All rights reserved.
