Widening Gap Between Europe and the US; Mib Rises

(Alliance News) - On Monday, major European markets closed in negative territory, with the exception of Milan's Piazza Affari.

Uncertainties in the Middle East, combined with global tariff policies dominating headlines, weighed on markets. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank itself described the environment as "highly uncertain," while reaffirming its symmetric 2% medium-term inflation target.

Domestically, Italy's annual consumer price inflation edged up slightly to 1.7% in June from 1.6% the previous month, in line with market expectations.

In Italy, the FTSE Mib closed up 0.1% at 39,792.22 points, the Mid-Cap rose 0.8% to 54,260.82, the Small-Cap gained 1.0% to 31,881.95, and the Italy Growth index jumped 0.4% to 8,195.76 points.

Across Europe, London's FTSE 100 fell 0.4%, Paris's CAC 40 slipped 0.3%, closing down 0.1%, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 ended 0.4% lower.

Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG, commented: "Today, as the last trading day of the quarter arrives, a wide gap has opened between European and US equities. While US stocks are eagerly awaiting Fed rate cuts and the likely approval of the budget bill, European stocks continue to fear a possible trade clash with the US. It's never wise to read too much into end-of-quarter moves, and the lack of news only exacerbates the issue."

On the Milan exchange, Campari stood out, closing up 1.8% at EUR5.710 per share.

Iveco Group--awaiting the sale of its military division--extended its streak of positive sessions into Monday. The stock climbed 2.2% to EUR16.70.

The sale of Iveco Defence could go to Leonardo, which rose 2.5% to EUR47.78, leading the blue chips.

A2A and bp announced Monday they had signed a deal for the sale and purchase of liquefied natural gas, under which A2A will buy up to 10 cargoes--about 1 billion cubic meters--of LNG per year from 2027 to 2044. Additionally, A2A and Ascopiave--the latter up 2.7%--finalized a gas asset deal worth EUR430 million. A2A shares closed up 0.2% at EUR2.2850 each.

Intesa Sanpaolo--up 0.3% at EUR4.8915 per share--announced the launch of the 2025 edition of Up2Stars, its acceleration program for innovative Italian startups, created in 2022 in partnership with the Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center.

News of a partnership between Azimut and Eni Next for energy innovation, targeting EUR100 million in fundraising, led to a slightly negative close for Azimut at EUR27.24 per share, down 0.3%, and a 0.5% drop for Eni, which also launched its largest solar park in Spain via Plenitude.

In the Mid-Cap segment, Danieli&C posted a 4.1% gain to EUR33.35 per share.

Fincantieri--leading with a 4.6% rise--is set to seize at least EUR20 billion in commercial opportunities in the defense sector, thanks to unprecedented growth in military spending across Europe and abroad.

"We are ready to increase our military production capacity without converting civilian activities, but by reallocating them within our flexible and integrated industrial network," said Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO and General Manager of Fincantieri, in an interview with Bloomberg.

Amidst a sharp rise in defense spending in Europe, the company aims to further strengthen its presence in the sector, with its military business expected to account for about 30% of revenues by 2027. Additionally, Fincantieri aims to grow its naval business--which includes frigates, destroyers, and aircraft carriers--to represent around 30% of revenues by 2027, up from 20% in 2023.

OVS rose 2.3% after announcing Monday it had purchased 292,750 ordinary shares between June 23 and 27 at an average price of EUR3.6010, for a total of over EUR1.1 million.

Tamburi--up 0.4%--also reported continuing its buyback program for over EUR1 million.

Among small caps, Risanamento posted the best performance with a 16% increase, extending its positive run over the past thirty days, which saw a 2.9% gain. With more than 400 contracts signed, over 20 million units changed hands today.

Banca Sistema closed with a loss of more than 11% at EUR1.7420 per share. The company was hit by selling precisely as Banca CF+ launched a takeover bid for all its shares. Notably, shares fell below the EUR1.80 per share offered by Banca CF+ for each Banca Sistema share.

Among SMEs, Espe signed two contracts worth EUR4.4 million, but the stock lost 3.1% to EUR3.10 per share.

Additionally, Xenia Hôtellerie Solution announced Monday it had signed a major new contract for its Business Accommodation line, lasting one year with a possible one-year extension from July 1, worth up to EUR50 million per year. The stock gained 11% to EUR3.14 per share.

Convergenze--up 2.1%--announced Monday that SIMON, its new mobile offering, is now fully operational, marking another step in the company's strategy to integrate and converge services for its national customers.

In New York, the Dow gained 0.2%, while the Nasdaq rose 0.2%, as did the S&P 500.

In currencies, the euro traded at USD1.1737 from USD1.1717 at Friday's close, while the pound traded at USD1.3701 from USD1.3714 on Friday.

In commodities, Brent crude traded at USD67.58 from USD67.97 per barrel at the previous close, while gold was valued at USD3,287.26 an ounce from USD3,274.28 an ounce previously.

Tuesday's macroeconomic calendar opens at 0101 CEST with the UK BRC retail price index. In Japan, at 0150 CEST, the Tankan manufacturing PMI is due.

At 0345 CEST, China will release the Caixin manufacturing PMI. At 0700 CEST, Japan will release its household confidence data.

At 0800 CEST, the UK will publish the national house price index. Then, at 0915 CEST, Spain will release its manufacturing PMI.

At 0945 CEST, Italy's manufacturing PMI will follow, then at 0950 CEST France's, and at 0955 CEST Germany's, alongside its unemployment rate.

At 1000 CEST, the Eurozone manufacturing PMI is due, while at 1030 CEST the UK's will be released.

At 1100 CEST, the Eurozone will publish inflation data. At 1200 CEST, Spain will release car registration figures.

In the afternoon, at 1530 CEST, attention turns to a series of speeches: Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, and ECB President Christine Lagarde are all scheduled to speak.

At 1545 CEST, the US manufacturing PMI will be released. At 1600 CEST, construction spending and the ISM manufacturing index will be published, alongside the JOLTS job openings data.

The day ends at 2230 CEST with the weekly US crude oil inventory report.

Among companies listed on Piazza Affari, SosTravel.com's quarterly results are expected.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter

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