(Alliance News) - On Monday, the main European stock markets closed in negative territory on a day when the EU announced that it had cut its growth forecasts for the eurozone for 2026 as risks related to international trade and geopolitical tensions continue to weigh on the European economy.
The European Commission now expects the gross domestic product of the 20 countries in the single currency to grow by 1.2% in 2026, down from its previous estimate of 1.4%.
Brussels also expects inflation in the eurozone to reach 1.9% in 2026, up from its previous forecast of 1.7% for next year.
As a result, the FTSE Mib closed down 0.51% at 43,767.287, the Mid-Cap fell 0.2% to 57,422.43, the Small-Cap lost 0.8% to 34,920.43, and the Italy Growth recorded an increase of 0.1% to 8,434.04.
In Europe, London's FTSE 100 closed down 0.2%, Paris' CAC 40 lost 0.6%, while Frankfurt's DAX recorded the worst performance of the day with a decline of 1.2%.
On the Mib, Hera performed best, up 1.8%. The stock dragged other utilities along with it, with Enel rising 1.2%, as did Leonardo, while Terna gained 1.0%.
Snam, up 0.4%, announced that it had terminated the agreement signed on April 7 with Infinity Investments, controlled by ADIA, for Snam's acquisition of a 24.99% stake in Open Grid Europe.
The company specified that the termination of the agreement does not change the guidance for 2025 announced on November 5, which indicates an adjusted net profit of approximately EUR 1.42 billion and net debt of approximately EUR 18 billion.
Telecom Italia - up 0.6% - announced on Monday the signing of a strategic agreement with Nokia to expand and modernize its 5G network, enhancing services to the group's customers and contributing to the spread of ultra-broadband in underserved areas.
The agreement will enable faster and more stable mobile performance, superior network quality in urban and rural areas, and reduced response times for digital applications and cloud services, while also improving streaming, gaming, remote collaboration, and solutions for businesses and public administration.
Among the bearish stocks, Brunello Cucinelli lost 3.5%. STMicroelectronics also fell, down 2.8%.
It was another tough start to the week for Nexi, which was also penalized by the continued decline of Worldline, its main European competitor in the credit card and payment systems sector. The stock closed down 2.5%.
As Alliance News columnist Francesco Bonazzi writes, "Nexi is still penalized by the results announced two weeks ago, with EBITDA for the first nine months disappointing analysts. The market continues to hope that the company will merge with the French, even though so far there have only been denials from those directly involved."
"Market capitalization complicates matters, because Worldline has collapsed in a year and is now worth EUR 521 million, compared to Nexi's EUR 4.6 billion."
In the junior segment, SOL rose 1.6%. On Monday, the company announced that its wholly owned subsidiary AIRSOL and Green Flame Gas Co, owned by the Kuwaiti Al-Qattan family, had formed VIVISOL Kuwait.
The new joint venture, 51% owned by AIRSOL and 49% by Green Flame Gas Co, has opened its headquarters in Kuwait City.
ERG - up 2.6% - announced on Friday that non-executive director Luca Bettonte had resigned, for personal reasons, from his position as a member of ERG's board of directors and the Strategy Committee, effective November 17.
Pharmanutra fell 2.3% after announcing on Monday that it had been ranked 190th in the "World's Best Companies - Sustainable Growth 2026" ranking published by the American weekly magazine Time, which identifies the 500 companies with the best performance in the field of sustainable development.
On the Small-Cap index, EuroGroup Laminations fell 0.2%. The company approved its accounts for the first nine months, which closed with a net profit of EUR 2.6 million, a sharp slowdown compared to the EUR 21.6 million recorded in 2024 in the same period.
Mondo TV fell 0.8%. On Friday, the company announced the signing of new distribution contracts in the Asian market, considered an area of strategic importance for the group.
The agreements concern the animated series Lola On Board, licensed for distribution to the Senyu group, while the series Agent203 and Lulu Vroumette will be distributed through G&CO.
Somec, down 4.5%, announced on Monday that it had reported consolidated revenues of EUR 271.1 million in the first nine months of the year, an increase of 1.3% at constant exchange rates and a slight increase compared to the EUR 270 million recorded on September 30, 2024.
The performance was mainly driven by the Mestieri division, up 17%, and Talenta, which recorded growth of 4.2%.
Among the gainers, PLC took the lead with a 6.7% increase. Fiera Milano also performed well, up 4.6%.
Among SMEs, Casta Diva rose over 16%. On Monday, the company announced significant changes in shareholdings and voting rights. Majority shareholder Reload reduced its voting rights from 68.33% to 54.16% following the conversion of over 3 million multiple-voting shares into ordinary shares. As of today, Reload holds approximately 6.4 million multiple voting shares, corresponding to 31.75% of the share capital and 54.16% of the voting rights.
At the same time, Alkemia Capital, on behalf of the "PIPE" fund, exceeded the 10% threshold of the share capital by acquiring ordinary shares from Reload. The company now holds more than 2.0 million shares, equal to 10.07% of the share capital and 5.72% of the voting rights.
Hoop Club also announced the purchase of 966,000 ordinary shares through its subsidiary Astra, corresponding to 4.82% of the share capital and 2.74% of the voting rights.
Bellini Nautica - not affected by the trades - announced on Monday that its subsidiary Bellini Yacht has signed a partnership agreement in Croatia to strengthen its European dealer network.
In New York, the Dow is down fractionally at 47,131.05, the Nasdaq is up 0.2% at 22,951.40, and the S&P 500 is up 0.1% at 6,741.55.
On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD 1.1596 from USD 1.1615 at Friday evening's stock market close, while the pound is trading at USD 1.3169 from USD 1.3154 on Friday evening.
Among commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD 64.30 per barrel, down from USD 64.47 per barrel at Friday evening's close, while gold is trading at USD 4,060.09 per ounce, down from USD 4,108.76 per ounce on Friday evening.
Tuesday's economic calendar will open at 0130 CET with the release of the minutes of the Australian Central Bank's meeting on the latest monetary policy decisions.
At 0830 CET, Swiss industrial production data for the third quarter will be released.
At 1300 CET, China will release data on foreign direct investment for October.
Overseas, at 1430 CET, import and export prices will be announced in the US, while at 1515 CET, annual industrial production data will be released.
Among the companies listed on the Italian stock exchange, ICF Group and Ratti are expected to release their nine-month results.
By Claudia Cavaliere, Alliance News reporter
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