(Alliance News) - The Mib closed Friday's session in negative territory, with share prices pushing the blue-chip index down to the 44,800-point area, marking a weekly loss and confirming a deterioration in short-term momentum.

The risk-off sentiment was triggered at the start of the week following statements by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding the possible introduction of punitive tariffs against the EU, making any potential exemption conditional on geopolitical concessions linked to the Greenland dossier.

Despite a subsequent easing of verbal tensions—thanks to a NATO agreement—the market remains cautious, continuing to price in the risk of a structural use of trade leverage as a negotiating tool.

This uncertainty, therefore, continues to weigh on short-term expectations and buying flows.

As a result, the FTSE Mib closed down 0.6% at 44,831.60, the Mid-Cap index ended 0.7% lower at 61,155.72, the Small-Cap slipped 0.5% to 37,690.75, while the Italy Growth index advanced 0.1% to 8,812.99.

London's FTSE 100 shed 0.1%, as did Paris' CAC 40, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 closed just above flat.

In Milan, among the largest-cap stocks on Piazza Affari, one of the few gainers was Saipem, which rose 4.4% to EUR2.95 per share, aiming for its fourth consecutive bullish session.

Leonardo gained 2.1% to EUR58.06 per share, rebounding after three losing sessions.

Fincantieri also showed strength, up 1.3% and snapping its losing streak.

FinecoBank—down 2.1%—announced Thursday that its board of directors will seek shareholder approval to launch a buyback plan for up to 666,425 of its own ordinary shares. The shares will be used for the 2026 incentive schemes for key personnel.

Nexi dropped 4.2%, reversing course after three bullish daily candles and closing out the blue-chip segment.

Buzzi also lost ground, down 2.4% to EUR49.60 per share. Notably, Goldman Sachs raised its target price to EUR53.00 from the previous EUR52.00.

On the Mid-Cap segment, WIIT advanced 0.8% to EUR24.55, after a 0.2% loss the previous day.

Philogen rose 1.4%, bringing its price to the EUR21.30 area after two flat sessions.

Pirelli & C—up 0.6%—announced Friday it had signed new five-year committed multicurrency credit lines totaling EUR2.1 billion with a pool of leading national and international banks. The new lines, tied to the group's decarbonization goals for Scopes 1, 2, and 3, will replace existing lines of the same amount maturing in 2027, allowing maturities to be extended to 2031.

Ferretti gained 0.4%, as competition for control of the company intensifies. Reference shareholder Weichai, which holds 38% of the capital, reaffirmed its intention to remain in the group with a long-term strategic presence, leaving open the possibility of increasing its stake to 40%, and confirmed it will submit a majority list at the next shareholders' meeting.

The Chinese fund is thus taking a stand after the partial takeover bid launched by Kkcg Maritime, owned by Czech entrepreneur Karel Komarek, who aims to increase his stake from 14.5% to 29.9% by offering EUR3.5 per share. The stock has exceeded the offer price, also supported by potential backing from Daniele Iervolino and Kuwaiti businessman Bader Nasser al-Kharafi.

Tinexta gained 0.1% to EUR15.13 per share. A leadership change is looming at the group company, now under the umbrella of Advent and Nextalia funds. The arrival of the new ownership—which acquired about 39% of the capital from Tecno Holding—is expected to be accompanied by the appointment of a new CEO, potentially Bernardo Mingrone, currently CFO of Nexi.

Webuild—down 0.9%—announced that the contract for the extension of the Riyadh Metro Red Line is worth USD2.75 billion. The project, commissioned by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, will be carried out by a consortium led by Webuild with a 30.1% stake, equal to about USD830 million.

On the Small-Cap segment, Seco advanced 5.0%, marking its third consecutive bullish session and closing at EUR3.27.

Beewize pushed its price up 1.0% to EUR0.41 per share, with market cap growing by over 36% in 2026.

Borgosesia—down 1.4%—announced Thursday the opening of the second tranche of its 2030 bond placement, for a maximum of EUR25 million, closing on February 12 or earlier if the target is reached.

The company notes that the bond is intended for retail and professional investors, has a duration of 60 months, and pays a fixed annual interest rate of 6.30%, with quarterly coupon payments.

OPS eCOM dropped 6.4% after filing for protective measures with the Rome court as part of its negotiated crisis settlement procedure.

The Italian Sea Group ended 3.0% lower at EUR4.57, after a 1.5% gain the previous day. According to MarketScreener—based on an average of 4 analysts—the stock has a target price of EUR7.22, making it about 53% undervalued.

Among SMEs, Farmacosmo fell 7.3% to EUR0.58 per share. The company—which has not paid a dividend since 2022—logged its fourth consecutive losing session.

Grifal—down 5.7%—reported that the board of directors reviewed preliminary consolidated revenues for 2025, amounting to EUR35.5 million, down 5.8% from EUR37.7 million in 2024. The decline was mainly due to a 27% drop in foreign sales.

Predict—up 1.2%—announced Thursday it had secured, through a direct award, a EUR55,500 supply contract with ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda in Milan, aimed at implementing a tele-ultrasound system for remote clinical support.

The two-year project will adopt the OPTIP platform, an integrated hardware and software solution enabling real-time sharing of diagnostic images and audio-video streams between field operators and remote specialists.

Magis, meanwhile, gained 5.6% to EUR10.30 per share, after a 1.0% loss the day before, with the company continuing its buyback program as planned.

In New York—with markets in full swing—the Dow Jones is down 0.5%, the S&P 500 is up 0.2%, while the Nasdaq is gaining 0.6%.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1758 from USD1.1742 at Thursday's European close, while the pound is at USD1.3573 from USD1.3492 Thursday evening.

As for commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD65.76 per barrel from USD64.21 per barrel Thursday, while gold is valued at USD4,985.35 an ounce from USD4,877.20 an ounce last night.

On Monday's economic calendar, at 0900 CET, Germany's IFO business index is due, followed at 1330 CET by a speech from Bundesbank President Nagel.

At 1330 CET, U.S. durable goods orders are expected, while between 1630 CET and 1800 CET a Treasury bill auction is scheduled.

Among Piazza Affari companies, results are expected from RedFish LongTerm Capital.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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