(Alliance News) - European stock markets continued their upward trend on Tuesday, supported by a geopolitical backdrop that appears - though caution remains necessary - less tense than anticipated. Statements from President Donald Trump suggesting that the conflict with Iran could conclude more quickly than expected helped reduce the geopolitical risk premium across markets.

In response, Brent futures fell below the USD92 per barrel mark, after nearing USD120 in the previous session.

This environment favored a rebound in cyclical stocks and sectors most sensitive to energy prices, while traders began to price in a less aggressive monetary policy from the ECB. The market is now pricing in a higher probability of a key rate hike of just 25 basis points over the course of the year.

Liquidity remains high and investor sentiment appears favorable, with a positive bias toward banking and industrial stocks.

Consequently, the FTSE Mib is up 2.6% at 45,168.08, the Mid-Cap is in the green by 2.3% at 56,527.96, the Small-Cap rises 1.8% to 34,767.32, while Italy Growth advances 1.1% to 8,463.82.

London's FTSE 100 is up 1.7%, the CAC 40 in Paris gained 2.1%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt marks a 2.5% increase.

Returning to Milan, as mentioned, the top of the list is held by banks Mediobanca and Banca Monte dei Paschi, rising 5.8% and 5.6% respectively.

The boards of the two banks are meeting today to approve merger plans and the exchange ratio. Following months of discussions on integration methods, after the success of Monte's exchange offer which closed last October with 86% of the capital of the Piazzetta Cuccia institution, no substantial changes to the strategy are expected. Advisors for MPS and Mediobanca are working on defining the exchange ratio, which must also be reviewed by related-party committees.

UniCredit is also performing well, holding third place with a 4.9% advance after three consecutive bearish candles.

STMicroelectronics rose 4.4% to EUR28.90 per share. Deutsche Bank Research confirmed a positive view on the stock, maintaining a 'buy' recommendation and raising the target price to EUR32.00 from EUR28.00. In the report signed by Johannes Schaller, the German bank highlighted how the company is strengthening its exposure to the artificial intelligence-related data center segment, identified as one of the main growth drivers for the coming years.

Ferrari advanced 1.7% to EUR300.00 per share. Notably, Barclays revised its target price for the stock downward to EUR360 from the previous EUR365.

Eni - down 1.7% - lost ground as the price per barrel fell. Additionally, the company announced on Tuesday that Plenitude has signed a 15-year partnership with Methagora for the supply of biomethane in France. The agreement stipulates that Plenitude will purchase approximately 50 GWh of biomethane per year for a 15-year period, in compliance with French regulations on the Biomethane Production Certificate system.

In the mid-cap segment, Sanlorenzo reached the upper echelons, rising 6.1% to EUR31.15 per share following strong results. Group net profit stood at EUR107.4 million, up 4.3% compared to EUR103.1 million recorded in December 2024. The board proposed a dividend of EUR1.05 per share to the shareholders' meeting, an increase from the EUR1.00 dividend paid on May 19, 2025.

d'Amico International Shipping - in the green by 3.0% - announced Tuesday that its operating subsidiary d'Amico Tankers (Ireland) has signed new financing agreements relating to 6 of its owned vessels. The total amount reaches USD83.0 million, with margins on the three-month SOFR rate ranging between 130 basis points - for the most recent financing - and 150 basis points, with an average margin of 1.4%.

Interpump Group - up 2.3% - announced on Monday that it purchased 184,000 treasury shares between March 2 and 6 for a total value of EUR6.8 million.

Ferretti advanced 2.5% to EUR3.74 per share. The company announced Monday that Ferretti International Holding purchased 176,613 ordinary shares of the company for a total value of approximately EUR658,000.

On the Small-Cap index, strength was seen in Italian Sea Group, which pushed its price up 7.9% after a 4.7% loss in the previous session.

Aeffe advanced 7.8% after two bearish sessions, ahead of results scheduled for publication on Thursday.

Caltagirone Editore - up 1.4% - announced Monday that it closed 2025 with a net profit of EUR626,000, down from EUR8.2 million in 2024, while total profit rose to EUR163.1 million thanks to the revaluation of equity holdings and capital gains on listed securities.

Enervit is down 2.0% at EUR3.96, following the previous day's loss of 2.4%.

Among SMEs, Casta Diva pushed forward by 7.8%, after a 0.9% loss in the previous session.

Friends - up 7.4% - approved the strategic growth lines for the group that will emerge from the acquisition of PMG Italia, an operation that will lead to the creation of the so-called Friends group and will be accompanied by the issuance of warrants for shareholders. Key development paths include the introduction within PMG Italia of a new service line called "Business Direzionale," dedicated to sustainable mobility projects entirely funded by a corporate sponsor who gains exclusive brand visibility.

Com.Tel - up 2.4% - announced it received notification of a new lock-up agreement signed by restricted shareholders relating to 16.4 million ordinary shares, equal to 89.02% of the company's share capital, representing the entire capital except for the free float.

Alfonsino fell 5.4%, following a 3.2% gain in the previous session; the stock has seen its market cap decline by nearly 20% since the beginning of the year.

In New York pre-market trading, the Dow Jones is moving bullishly by 0.2%, as is the S&P 500, while the Nasdaq advances 0.3%.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1644 from USD1.1595 at Monday's European close, while the pound trades at USD1.3453 from USD1.3404 last night.

Among commodities, Brent trades at USD91.32 per barrel from USD98.00 on Monday, while gold is worth USD5,175.80 an ounce from USD5,107.06 last night.

Tuesday's macroeconomic calendar includes the release of ADP employment data from the US at 1315 CET, while weekly oil inventories are due at 2130 CET.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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