(Alliance News) - On Tuesday, major European indices closed sharply lower, with Milan's Piazza Affari falling to the 44,400-point area and marking the worst performance among the stock exchanges of the Old Continent.

The sell-off on the Milanese index was broad-based, with only two stocks ending in positive territory.

Weighing on the equity markets is the ongoing series of attacks conducted by the USA and Israel against Iran, to which Tehran has responded with counterattacks in the Middle East region. Notably, Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent energy commodities soaring, with Brent crude up by about 8% and gas rising by 15%.

The yield on the 10-year BTP rose to around 3.5%, its highest since February 3, in a context where markets are reacting to Eurozone inflation data exceeding estimates and to the deteriorating geopolitical scenario in the Middle East.

In February, the annual inflation rate in the euro area stood at 1.9%, with the core component at 2.4%, both above expectations. In Italy, inflation rose to 1.6% from 1% in January, compared to a forecast of 1.1%, increasing pressure on government bonds.

Thus, the Mib closed down 3.9% at 44,468.46 points, the Mid-Cap lost 4.0% to 56,260.31, the Small-Cap contracted by 3.4% to 34,762.38, and Italy Growth ended 2.5% lower at 8,403.63 points.

London's FTSE 100 closed down 2.8%, Paris's CAC 40 retreated by 3.5%, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 lost 3.6%.

Back in Milan, on the main list of Piazza Affari, Lottomatica ended up 3.3%. On Tuesday, the company released data related to its consolidated financial statements project, reporting turnover of EUR44.70 billion, up 14% from EUR39.2 billion in 2024, driven by online growth, which reached 22% for the year, standing at EUR945.5 million.

Total net profit for the 2025 fiscal year amounted to EUR186 million compared to EUR101.2 million in 2024. The board resolved to propose to the shareholders' meeting the allocation of EUR110.7 million for a dividend of EUR0.44 per ordinary share, up from EUR0.30 paid last year.

Recordati also performed well, the only other stock to close in positive territory, rising by 1.4%.

Nexi – down 2.9% – and Google Cloud announced on Tuesday the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to develop next-generation digital commerce infrastructure, focusing on agentic commerce, a model in which artificial intelligence agents autonomously manage the purchasing process and execute secure payments based on received authorizations.

Eni – down 1.6% – announced Tuesday that Plenitude, through its subsidiary Plenitude On The Road, signed a strategic partnership with Pininfarina – down 5.3% on the small-cap – aimed at transforming the design of areas where its electric vehicle charging infrastructure is present.

UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, with the highest trading volumes, fell by 4.6% and 5.0%, respectively.

Fincantieri, down 4.8%, announced Tuesday it had secured an order from Viking for the construction of two expedition cruise ships. Additionally, the two companies signed an agreement for an option concerning two ocean ships. The total value of the agreements is considered "very significant," i.e., exceeding EUR2 billion.

Among other decliners, Brunello Cucinelli dropped 5.6% to EUR74.20. During the session, the stock hit a new 52-week low at EUR73.14 per share.

A2A, Italgas, and Moncler closed at the bottom of the basket with losses of 6.1%, 6.3%, and 6.5%, respectively.

On the Mid-Cap, Ariston Holding plummeted by double digits, dropping 19%. The company announced it closed 2025 with a net profit of EUR132.4 million compared to EUR2.5 million in 2024, while adjusted net profit stood at EUR112.9 million from EUR89 million as of December 31, 2024. The company reported it has proposed a dividend of EUR0.10 per share, up from EUR0.08 in 2024.

Among the few risers on the secondary list, PharmaNutra ended up 2.1%, rebounding from the previous day's losses. The company announced Tuesday it had signed a new distribution agreement for France and Switzerland with the French multinational PiLeJe, a leader in the nutraceutical market.

Selling pressure hit MAIRE, down 9.1% and marking its third consecutive losing session. The company will announce its 2025 results tomorrow.

Banca Generali also fell, down 2.9% with trades exceeding EUR23 million.

On the Small-Cap, Gas Plus posted a strong positive performance, closing the session up by double digits with a 10% rise to EUR7.50. During trading, the stock set a new 52-week high at EUR7.64.

Among the most heavily traded stocks at the bottom of the list, doValue dropped 7.3% while Trevi Finanzia Industriale retreated 14%.

Tesmec – down 10% – presented its new Re.M – Remote Monitoring App on Tuesday, completely redesigned to ensure real-time visibility, faster decision-making, and a smoother user experience thanks to a modern interface.

Among SMEs, ICOP saw good buying interest, up 0.9%, after announcing yesterday it closed 2025 with consolidated net profit of EUR31.9 million, up from EUR17.3 million in 2024. The board will propose a dividend of EUR0.14 per share.

Eprcomunicazione – flat at EUR1.44 – announced Tuesday it had signed a contract with a major national labor confederation for the organization of events, production of institutional materials, and creative support services.

Kruso Kapital ended down 1.8%. The company closed 2025 with consolidated net profit of EUR8.6 million, up 95% from EUR4.5 million in 2024.

In New York, the Dow is down 1.3%, as is the Nasdaq, while the S&P 500 is down 1.2%.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1602 from USD1.1678 at Monday's European equity close, while the pound is trading at USD1.3326 from USD1.3371.

Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD82.42 per barrel from USD78.00 per barrel on Monday evening, while gold is valued at USD5,112.86 an ounce from USD5,293.82 an ounce.

Wednesday's macroeconomic calendar opens at 0130 CET in Japan with the Services PMI.

At 0230 CET, China is expected to release the Manufacturing PMI and the Composite PMI.

In Europe, at 0915 CET Spain will publish its Services PMI. At 0945 CET Italy will release its Services and Composite PMIs, followed at 0950 CET by France and at 0955 CET by Germany.

At 1000 CET, Italy will publish its unemployment rate, while at the same time the euro area will release its Services and Composite PMIs. At 1030 CET, it will be the UK's turn for its PMIs.

At 1100 CET, Italy will announce its GDP, while the Eurozone will release its unemployment rate and producer prices.

In the afternoon, at 1300 CET, the US will release the MBA 30-year mortgage rate and mortgage applications.

At 1430 CET, a speech by ECB's Luis de Guindos is scheduled.

At 1545 CET, the US is expected to release its Services and Composite PMIs.

The day will close at 1630 CET with US crude oil inventories and the EIA weekly refined products inventories.

Among Piazza Affari companies, results are expected from Amplifon, Banca Generali, Campari, Intercos, MAIRE, Masi Agricola, Nexi, and Snam.

By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News reporter

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