MIB sole riser; strength in Prysmian and Poste

(Alliance News) - European stock markets continue Friday's session in negative territory - with Milan the sole outlier in the green - as investor sentiment weakened after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose 'much higher' tariffs on the EU by July 4, unless the European bloc reduces duties on American goods to zero.

The warning followed a call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who nevertheless stated that the EU is making 'good progress' toward reducing tariffs before the deadline.

Consequently, the MIB is marking a 0.1% gain at 49,353.28 points, the Mid-Cap is advancing 1.0% to 60,296.94, the Small-Cap is shedding 0.7% to 35,187.50, and Italy Growth is recording a 0.3% decline to 8,879.33.

The CAC 40 is down 0.6%, the DAX 40 is retreating 0.7%, while the FTSE 100 is posting a 0.2% loss.

On the MIB in Piazza Affari, Tenaris is among the few gainers, advancing 1.6% to EUR25.14 per share after two negative sessions.

Prysmian confirms the strong session seen since the opening bell, advancing 3.4% to EUR148.55. Notably, Deutsche Bank raised its target price on the stock to EUR167.00 from EUR100.00.

Poste Italiane is up 2.1% at EUR23.79 per share. Berenberg confirmed its 'buy' recommendation on the stock, raising the target price to EUR28.60 from EUR26.40, compared to a price of EUR23.30 on May 7. In the report signed by Michael Huttner, the bank highlights that the group published first-quarter 2026 results that exceeded expectations and could benefit from further synergies related to the TIM transaction.

Poste Italiane recorded quarterly revenue of EUR3.46 billion and an adjusted Ebit of EUR905 million, exceeding consensus estimates of EUR3.39 billion and EUR861 million, respectively.

Telecom Italia - up 0.6% - plans to gradually exit Inwit towers, which is trading down 0.2%, in a process that could last about ten years. As MF-Milano Finanza reported on Friday, during the presentation of quarterly accounts, the group led by Pietro Labriola presented a 'clear and realistic' plan for the tower exit, following a request from Consob after Inwit's complaint regarding the termination of the master service agreement.

Commerzbank - down 0.8% in Frankfurt - reiterated its critical stance on Friday regarding the offer launched by UniCredit, which is shedding 1.2%, stating that the plan presented by the Italian bank 'remains vague and presents considerable execution risks' in the context of the publication of first-quarter results.

The German bank specified that the management board and the supervisory board will publish their reasoned opinion on the transaction 'in due course', including a recommendation to shareholders, once 'a thorough review' of the offer document submitted by UniCredit is completed.

In the mid-cap segment, Banco di Desio e della Brianza - down 3.7% - announced on Thursday that it closed the first quarter with a result of EUR37.6 million, up 1.7% compared to the same period last year. Annualized ROE stood at 8.0%, compared to 9.3% at the end of 2025, while the cost of risk fell to 27 basis points from 33 basis points.

Cementir Holding - down 7.9% - announced on Thursday that it closed the first quarter with a pre-tax profit of EUR7.4 million from EUR30.3 million in the same period last year, a 76% decline. The first quarter ended with revenue of EUR345.9 million from EUR368.1 million as of March 31, 2025, showing a 6.0% decrease.

Safilo Group - up 9.4% - announced on Thursday that it closed the first quarter with net sales of EUR272.9 million from EUR285.8 million as of March 31, 2025. Gross industrial profit stood at EUR169.2 million from EUR173.0 million in the first quarter of last year.

Pirelli & C - up 2.4% - announced on Thursday that it closed the first quarter of the year with net profit growing 23% to EUR156.8 million from EUR127.2 million as of March 31, 2025. Revenue amounted to EUR1.74 billion from EUR1.76 billion in the first quarter of 2025.

On the Small-Cap, Ratti is advancing 3.5% to EUR1.17, following a 3.4% loss in the previous session.

The board of IGD - up 0.1% - announced that it closed the first quarter of 2026 with a net profit of EUR5.7 million, an increase of EUR4.1 million compared to the same period last year. The board also confirmed full-year guidance, which forecasts a recurring net profit of at least EUR45 million by the end of 2026.

Datalogic is retreating 3.8%, subject to profit-taking after a streak of five positive sessions.

Generalfinance - down 3.6% - closed the first quarter with a net profit of EUR5.1 million from EUR5.3 million as of March 31, 2025. Net interest income in the first quarter was EUR3.7 million from EUR3.3 million in the same period last year, while net commissions stood at EUR11.2 million from EUR11.1 million in 2025.

The board of Banca Profilo - down 2.7% - announced late Thursday that it closed the first quarter of 2026 with a consolidated net profit of EUR400,000, down from EUR2.2 million in the same period of 2025, in a context marked by the reorganization of Private Banking. The group nevertheless confirms a solid capital and liquidity position, with a CET1 ratio of 26.2% and an LCR of 430%, among the highest levels in the market.

Among SMEs, there is a push for Destination Italia, which is advancing 4.3% after a 7.6% loss at Thursday's close.

Braga Moro - up 2.1% - announced on Thursday that the shareholders' meeting, during its last session where it reviewed the consolidated financial statements and approved the annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, appointed Graziano Petrigliano as a director of the company.

Growens - up 3.5% - announced on Thursday that it closed the first quarter with revenue of EUR20.9 million compared to EUR18.0 million as of March 31, 2025. First-quarter EBITDA tripled to EUR1.1 million from EUR300,000 in the same period last year.

Ambromobiliare is retreating 3.7% to EUR0.65 per share.

In New York last night, the Dow shed 0.6%, the Nasdaq shed 0.1%, while the S&P 500 retreated 0.4%.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1770 from USD1.1768 on Thursday evening, while the pound is trading at USD1.3661 from USD1.3613 last night.

Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD100.66 per barrel from USD98.47 per barrel last night, while gold is worth USD4,710.92 per ounce from USD4,735.65 per ounce last night.

Regarding Friday's economic calendar, from the US, at 1430 CEST, unemployment data will be released, while in the evening - as usual on Fridays - the COT Report will be available at 2130 CEST.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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