(Alliance News) - On Thursday, the futures market is shaping major European exchanges in negative territory following last night's speech by US President Donald Trump, who urged the conquest of the Strait of Hormuz while sparing no criticism for NATO allies, whom he labeled "cowards."
The tycoon's words, promising an end to the war within a relatively short timeframe of two to three weeks, have reignited concerns that have persisted since the start of the conflict, with fuel prices surging not only in the US but across most European countries.
Consequently, IG futures show the MIB down 1.8% or approximately 815 points, the CAC 40 contracting by 1.5% or 116.4 points, the DAX 40 declining by 1.8% or 425.5 points, and the FTSE 100 in the red by 0.8% or 83.3 points.
On Wednesday, the FTSE MIB closed up 3.2% at 45,714.95, the Mid-Cap gained 3.0% to 54,895.64, the Small-Cap rose 2.2% to 33,142.58, while Italy Growth advanced 1.0% to 8,370.86.
London's FTSE 100 closed 1.9% higher, Paris's CAC 40 advanced 2.1%, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 gained 2.6%.
Returning to Milan, on the blue-chip list of Piazza Affari, which was bathed in green, only five stocks ended in negative territory.
Leading the MIB was Avio, which rallied 10% with over 1.6 million shares traded.
Buying interest was seen in Leonardo, which posted a 7.9% gain to EUR62.64 per share after Citigroup upgraded the stock to "buy" with a target price of EUR69.00.
UniCredit performed well, advancing 5.6%. "Alongside the organic strategy, the offer for Commerzbank expresses a broader ambition: Europe needs stronger and better-capitalized institutions," said Chairman Pier Carlo Padoan, reiterating the commitment to maintaining a constructive dialogue to foster European integration.
As reported by La Repubblica on Wednesday, the latest move by CEO Andrea Orcel was an exchange offer (OPS) for 100% of the capital, starting from the 30% already held, at a modest price to initiate negotiations. There is now time until May to reach an agreement.
Strength was seen in Intesa Sanpaolo, up 4.4%, which announced that its IMI Corporate & Investment Banking division participated, alongside a pool of international banks, in a financing of approximately USD290 million for a battery energy storage project located in Boulder City, Nevada.
Among the few decliners, Tenaris shed 2.2%, while Amplifon lost 0.9% on the floor.
At the bottom of the main list was Eni, down 4.7%. The "six-legged dog" group announced on Wednesday that it had signed a new EUR500 million, 15-year loan with the European Investment Bank for the conversion of several units at the Eni refinery in Sannazzaro de' Burgondi, in the province of Pavia, into a biorefinery.
The project involves converting the Hydrocracker plant using Ecofining technology and constructing a plant for the pretreatment of waste such as used cooking oils, animal fats, and residues from the agri-food industry, which are the primary feedstocks used by Enilive to produce HVO biofuels.
On the Mid-Cap, BFF Bank finished with double-digit gains, nearing an 11% increase.
MAIRE performed well, closing up 3.6% for its third consecutive bullish session. The group announced Wednesday that Nextchem, through its subsidiary KT Tech, was awarded a contract for preliminary engineering activities and the supply of proprietary equipment for a SAF plant under development in North Sumatra province, Indonesia.
Webuild ended trading up 5.0%, after gaining 0.5% on Tuesday.
Juventus hit a 52-week low of EUR1.948 per share during the session before closing at EUR2.012, up 1.1%.
At the bottom of the mid-cap list, NewPrinces closed down 20%, following an 8.5% rise the previous day. The group announced Tuesday that it closed 2025 with strong growth in revenue and key financial indicators, supported primarily by contributions from recent acquisitions.
On the Small-Cap, OPS Italia ended the session soaring in double digits, recording a 45% increase.
Finishing at the bottom of the list at the close were Aeffe, down 8.0%, and OPS Retail, in the red by 17%.
The board of SS Lazio - flat at EUR1.20 - approved the consolidated half-year financial report as of December 31, 2025, on Tuesday evening, showing a loss for the period of EUR20.4 million compared to a break-even result in the same period the previous year.
Among SMEs with the highest trading turnover, Ecosuntek shed 2.5%. The company announced that Matteo Minelli, CEO and reference shareholder, increased his stake to 9.5 million shares, representing over 55% of the capital.
Minelli decided not to launch a mandatory takeover bid (OPA), considering that "the exceeding of significant shareholding thresholds is to be considered temporary." Indeed, the sale of approximately 14% of the capital, equal to 2.3 million Ecosuntek shares, is planned through UMA and Ecosuntek Energy.
STAR7 stood out at the top of the gainers with a 41% advance to EUR11.30 after announcing Wednesday that the reference shareholders - Dante and STAR - signed a contract with Argos Fund for the acquisition by the latter of all shares held by them, equal to 75% of the company's share capital.
The consideration due by Argos for the acquisition is EUR11.90 per STAR7 share cum dividend, reflecting a premium of approximately 50% compared to the weighted average price of the last six months.
Dedem closed trading with a 7.9% gain. The company announced Tuesday that in 2025, on a consolidated level, the net result stood at EUR1.8 million, an 18% decrease compared to EUR2.2 million as of December 31, 2024.
SolidWorld - down 1.0% - announced that it closed the 2025 financial year with a widened loss of EUR2.7 million from EUR1.8 million recorded as of December 31, 2024. Sales revenues were EUR57.5 million, substantially stable compared to EUR57.8 million in the previous year.
In New York, during the European evening, the Dow Jones closed up 0.5% at 46,565.74 points, the Nasdaq gained 1.2% to 21,804.95, and the S&P 500 closed in the green by 0.7% at 6,575.32.
In Asia, the Nikkei shed 2.4% to 52,441 points, the Shanghai Composite is in the red by 0.9% at 3,914.51, and the Hang Seng slipped 1.3% to 24,959.50 points.
On the currency front, the euro is changing hands at USD1.1524 from USD1.1610 yesterday evening, while the pound trades at USD1.3205 from USD1.3324 on Wednesday evening.
Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD107.56 per barrel from USD101.87 per barrel yesterday evening, while gold is worth USD4,586.92 per ounce from USD4,784.85 per ounce yesterday evening.
On Thursday's macroeconomic calendar, Italian retail sales are expected at 1100 CET, while car registrations in Italy will be released at 1345 CET.
In the afternoon, at 1430 CET in the US, initial jobless claims are on the agenda along with the trade balance figure.
At 1700 CET in the US, a speech by the Federal Reserve's Logan is scheduled, while the day concludes at 1900 CET, also in the US, with the rig count data published by Baker Hughes.
Among Piazza Affari companies, results from Digital Value and Inwit are expected.
By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News reporter
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