Indices Expected to Open Weak, Focus on Macroeconomic Data

(Alliance News) - Milan's Piazza Affari is expected to show slight weakness at the start of trading on Friday, according to futures indications, on a day that will see the release of Italy's inflation data in the morning.

IG futures indicate the Mib down by 29.6 points or 0.1% after closing up 0.4% at 45,849.77 on Thursday's session.

Across Europe, London's FTSE 100 is expected to open down 7.8 points or 0.1%, Paris' CAC 40 is indicated down 19.4 points or 0.2%, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 is seen falling by 87.7 points or 0.4%.

Last night in Milan, the Mid-Cap gained 0.1% to 61,251.02, the Small-Cap closed up 0.2% at 38,062.60, and the Italy Growth index rose 0.2% to 8,869.00 points.

At Piazza Affari, buying was led by Prysmian, which hit a 52-week high at EUR93.30 per share and posted a daily gain of 4.9%.

According to JPMorgan and Citigroup, the group is expected to report a performance broadly in line with expectations for the fourth quarter of last year, with the upper end of guidance seen as achievable.

Telecom Italia also performed well: after its agreement with Warner Bros for the launch of HBO Max in Italy, the stock rose by 2.0%.

UniCredit – up 1.3% – reiterated that M&A operations remain a strategic tool for the group, clarifying that its internal team constantly evaluates various options, both within and potentially outside the bank's geographical scope.

The bank described recent rumors about a stake in MPS – which fell by 1.6% – as speculative and unfounded, as well as speculation about an alleged interest in acquiring other holdings.

Inwit – up 1.7% – successfully completed an additional EUR150 million issue on its EUR750 million bond launched in April 2025, with a 3.75% coupon and maturity on April 1, 2030.

Next Geosolutions Europe – with trading suspended – announced that, through its subsidiary Rana Subsea, it has signed a USD150 million agreement with Saipem – up 0.2% – for the provision of "SAT diving" services in the Middle East.

Moncler and Eni saw declines of 1.3% and 1.7%, respectively.

On the Mid-Cap, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, down 0.2%, acquired 58.84% of Edilportale.com for EUR31.2 million. Edilportale.com is active in developing content, services, and digital platforms for the architecture, design, and construction sectors.

Webuild, leading the Metro C Consortium alongside Vianini Lavori, will construct the new T1 section of the capital's Metro Line C, connecting Clodio/Mazzini to Farnesina. The deal is worth EUR766 million. The stock slipped 0.1%.

Technoprobe delivered a strong performance, rising 7.5% and hitting a 52-week high at EUR15.06 per share.

BFF Bank saw double-digit losses, down 14% to EUR8.30 per share.

Among small caps, Consob approved Banca CF+'s full voluntary takeover bid for Banca Sistema, which fell by 0.5%.

The board of Aedes fully exercised its mandate to increase share capital by up to EUR5 million: the stock declined by 0.3%.

Esprinet has been admitted to the collaborative compliance regime of the Italian Revenue Agency. This is an advanced model of business-administration relations based on transparency, legal certainty, and proactive tax risk management. The stock dropped 1.9%.

EuroGroup Laminations confirmed Reuters' report, announcing that EMS and FountainVest have obtained authorization under Italy's Golden Power regulations. Approval is subject to specific behavioral requirements deemed suitable to protect strategic national interests, in line with current regulations. The stock closed flat at EUR3.492 per share.

Mondo TV, after Rai Kids' pre-acquisition of the animated series Grisù, topped the basket with a 7.9% gain.

Among SMEs, DBA Group, with no trading activity, continues its investment in technological innovation after commissioning EssilorLuxottica to supply the latest generation of AI Glasses to support its business activities.

Fope, up 2.0%, announced that consolidated net revenues as of December 31, 2025, stood at EUR93.6 million, up 27% compared to December 31, 2024.

eVISO recorded a sharp increase in supply points linked to the agency channel, based on data from the Integrated Information System, the public body managing information flows for the electricity and gas markets. The stock responded positively, up 6.3%.

gAIn360 reported that the Lombardy Region has granted a total contribution of EUR361,181.30. Of this amount, EUR300,000 may be requested by the company within 90 days of the publication of the grant decree.

In Asia, the Nikkei is down 0.3% at 53,936.17, the Shanghai Composite loses 0.3% at 4,101.91, and the Hang Seng drops 0.5% to 26,778.18.

In New York, the Dow Jones closed Thursday up 0.6% at 49,442.44, the Nasdaq gained 0.3% at 23,530.02, and the S&P 500 rose 0.3%.

On the currency front, the euro changes hands at USD1.1609 from USD1.610 at Thursday's European equity close, while the pound trades at USD1.3381 from USD1.3391 last night.

Among commodities, Brent trades at USD63.56 per barrel from USD63.60 per barrel yesterday, while gold is valued at USD4,596.96 per ounce from USD4,612.87 per ounce on Thursday evening.

On Friday's economic calendar, Italy's inflation data is due at 1000 CET.

At 1100 CET in the UK, BoE's Bailey is scheduled to speak. Focus will be on US industrial production at 1515 CET, while at 1900 CET Baker Hughes rig count data is expected.

At Piazza Affari, results from Saccheria F.lli Franceschetti are awaited.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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