MIB in the green at 50,200; banking M&A risk rewards Unipol

(Alliance News) - On Tuesday, the MIB closed the session higher, settling around the 50,200-point mark. The index was primarily supported by the banking sector, given that the weight of financial stocks among the blue chips accounts for more than a third of the total.

Market participants remain focused on the ECB meeting scheduled for Thursday. The market has almost fully priced in a 25-basis-point rate hike, which would represent the first tightening move in the last twelve months. Beyond the rate decision, investors will closely monitor the guidance provided by President Christine Lagarde regarding the future trajectory of monetary policy.

Money markets are pricing in approximately 70 basis points of total hikes by year-end, a scenario that incorporates a further 25-basis-point increase and assigns a probability of over 70% to a third restrictive intervention.

Consequently, the FTSE MIB advanced 0.1% to 50,262.76 points, the Mid-Cap shed 0.4% to 61,550.15 points, the Small-Cap lost 0.4% to 35,520.01 points, while Italy Growth retreated 0.7% to 9,105.27 points.

London's FTSE 100 fell 1.4%, the Paris CAC 40 edged up 0.1%, while the Frankfurt DAX 40 closed down 0.7%.

On the MIB, STMicroelectronics was among the few laggards, shedding 5.9% after a 4.0% gain in the previous session. Notably, on Monday, D. E. Shaw & Co. cut its short position on the stock to 0.48% from 0.64%.

Unipol performed well, finishing at the top of the pack with a 4.7% bullish candle at EUR22.84 per share, after touching a 52-week high of EUR23.19 per share. The stock benefited from an agreement with Intesa to acquire - should Intesa's bid succeed - 635 branches and the historic MPS brand to merge them with BPER, in which Unipol holds a majority stake.

BPER shares advanced 2.9%, while Intesa gained 0.9%.

On the same matter, the Turin-based banking group confirmed its determination to proceed with the acquisition of Monte dei Paschi di Siena, a transaction that CEO Carlo Messina believes could represent a strategic turning point not only for the group but also for its positioning in future European banking consolidation.

In an exclusive interview with Bloomberg TV on Tuesday, Messina called Intesa's 'the only real offer for MPS' and assured that the group will remain in the race even if competing proposals emerge. 'We will remain in the race for MPS even if there are other offers', the banker stated.

Azimut Holding - up 0.6% - announced on Tuesday that it recorded net inflows of EUR1.5 billion in May, bringing the total for the first five months of 2026 to EUR7.6 billion, or 76% of the annual target of EUR10 billion. The group's total assets rose to EUR155.7 billion, up approximately 11% compared to the end of 2025.

In the mid-cap segment, Tamburi saw a boost, rising 7.6% with the price around EUR9.30 per share.

Cementir Holding - bullish with a 4.8% gain - announced on Tuesday that Aalborg Portland, a Cementir affiliate, signed an agreement with the Danish Energy Agency to receive a carbon capture subsidy of approximately EUR117 per tonne captured, up to 1.25 million tonnes annually starting from 2030, when the CO2 capture plant is expected to be operational.

The subsidy, according to the note, amounts to up to approximately EUR146 million per year for 15 years, for a maximum cumulative total of approximately EUR2.2 billion, to be indexed to inflation.

Technoprobe fell 0.7% to EUR30.60 per share. Deutsche Bank Research confirmed its 'buy' recommendation on the stock and raised the target price to EUR42 from EUR35, believing the company is still in the early stages of a multi-year growth cycle linked to artificial intelligence.

According to analyst George Brown, the stock has already gained over 60% following the May 2026 results, supported by strong demand for Nvidia's AI GPUs. However, the main driver of growth is said to be not so much the increase in chip volumes sold as the growing complexity of testing required by next-generation semiconductors.

Technogym shed 3.9% to EUR16.36, marking its third consecutive session ending with a bearish candle.

Alerion Clean Power - in the red by 9.4% - announced on Monday the final results of the capital increase approved on May 21, in which 63,607 of the 5.4 million new shares offered at EUR25.00 each were subscribed, for a total value of EUR1.6 million. Settlement of the transaction is scheduled for June 10.

On the Small-Cap index, Trevi Finanziaria Industriale gained 5.1% to EUR3.54 per share. Alantra confirmed its 'buy' recommendation on the stock, while reducing the target price to EUR4.50 per share from EUR10.00 following the definition of the terms for the EUR100 million capital increase. The new target still implies a potential upside of 44% compared to current prices.

Analysts highlighted that the operation marks the transition from the planning phase to the executive phase of the recapitalization.

Digital Bros gained 4.3% to EUR11.24 per share. The stock - which has not paid a dividend since 2022 - turned upward after three sessions ending with a bearish candle.

Centrale del Latte d'Italia closed up 1.9%, bringing the price to EUR4.28 per share. The stock - which has a market capitalization of approximately EUR59 million - has shown a contraction of about 12% since the beginning of the year.

Olidata shed 5.0%, following the previous day's bearish candle of 3.6%.

Among SMEs, Com.Tel showed strength, pushing its price up by 5.4%. Notably, high trading volume was recorded for the stock, with over 289,000 shares changing hands compared to a three-month daily average of approximately 62,000.

Destination Italia closed up 8.1%, after a flat session the previous day, bringing the price to around EUR0.22 per share.

Industrie Chimiche Forestali - down 1.6% - announced on Monday that it purchased 9,000 treasury shares at a weighted average price of EUR6.344 each, for a total value of approximately EUR57,000.

Mare Engineering Group - up 1.5% - announced its entry into the capital of the startup Nido Srl, active in autonomous unmanned systems and AI technologies, through an initial investment of EUR50,000 that will allow it to acquire a 20% stake.

Alfonsino - in the red by 3.4% - announced on Tuesday the launch of its table reservation service on a national scale and the signing of an agreement with Yo Agents, an Italian commercial hub and sales community created to connect companies with a network of over 2,000 sales agents and ambassadors across the country.

In New York, the Dow is retreating 0.5%, the Nasdaq shed 1.7%, while the S&P 500 shows a loss of 1.0%.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1553 from USD1.1544 on Monday evening, while the pound is trading at USD1.3381 from USD1.3342 yesterday evening.

Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD90.83 per barrel from USD94.65 per barrel on Monday evening, while gold is worth USD4,268.60 per ounce from USD4,331.55 per ounce at yesterday evening's close.

Wednesday's macroeconomic calendar includes the publication of April industrial production data from Italy at 1000 CEST.

At 1110 CEST, also from Italy, a 12-month BOT auction will be held.

From the US, the mortgage market report is due at 1300 CEST.

At 1430 CEST, the publication of the May consumer price index.

At 1900 CEST, also from the US, a 10-year Treasury Note auction will be held.

No significant corporate announcements are scheduled.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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