(Alliance News) - European stock markets are bracing for a negative start to Monday's session, weighed down by renewed tensions over global trade that are dampening investor sentiment.
US President Donald Trump has announced a tightening of protectionist policies, declaring his intention to double tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50%, with the measure set to take effect on June 4. The move has triggered strong reactions from Washington's major trading partners.
The European Union issued sharp criticism, emphasizing that the decision undermines ongoing diplomatic efforts to reach a "negotiated solution" to the trade dispute. Meanwhile, Beijing has rejected Trump's accusations regarding an alleged violation of a trade agreement signed in Geneva last month, further complicating prospects for a near-term meeting between the US President and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The FTSE Mib--after closing up 0.3% at 40,087.40 points on Friday evening--is showing a loss of 155.00 points in futures trading.
London's FTSE 100 is just below parity, Paris' CAC 40 is down 42.80 points, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 is retreating by 129.00 points.
Among the secondary indices on Friday evening, the Mid-Cap closed up 0.1% at 54,512.54, the Small-Cap rose 0.2% to 31,796.00, while Italy Growth gained 0.4% to 8,113.16.
On the Mib, in the last session, Snam was among the gainers--up 0.7%--after announcing the successful completion of an accelerated bookbuilding of 83.3 million option rights reserved as part of Italgas's capital increase. Italgas closed as the best performer on the list, up 2.6%. The rights were sold at EUR0.396 each, for a total value of EUR32.5 million and a 1.9% discount to their theoretical value.
Recordati advanced 2.2%, rebounding from a 0.3% dip the previous day. Notably, AQR Capital Management trimmed its short position on the stock to 0.5% from 0.49%.
A2A rose 1.3% after Thursday's 0.6% decline. During the week, Moody's upgraded A2A's outlook to Positive from Stable, confirming its long-term rating at 'Baa2'.
Amplifon also performed well, up 0.2%. Kintbury Capital reduced its short position on the stock to 0.57% from 0.61%.
Assicurazioni Generali--down 0.5%--announced Thursday its return to the Insurance-Linked Securities market by sponsoring, through Lion Re DAC, the issuance of a EUR200 million catastrophe bond split into two tranches. The securities will cover European storm and Italian earthquake events over a four-year period.
On the Mid-Cap segment, ERG closed up 1.9%, marking its fourth consecutive positive session and bringing the price to EUR18.60 per share.
The Italian Sea Group advanced 1.3%, recovering after two negative sessions and trading around EUR5.65 per share.
Alerion--best performer on the list--gained 5.0%, ending its fourth straight negative session.
Among the losers, TXT closed down 2.9%, bringing the price to EUR35.65.
Carel Industries also saw selling pressure, falling 2.4% after a 1.9% gain in the previous session.
On the Small-Cap, Softlab closed up 3.5% at EUR1.18, marking its third consecutive positive session.
Safilo Group--up 0.8%--announced Thursday the early renewal of its supply agreement with Kering Eyewear, extending the deadline to 2029.
Zucchi is up 1.3%, rebounding after three consecutive losing sessions.
Valsoia--up 0.5%--announced Thursday the launch of its previously approved share buyback program. Under the program, intended to supply shares for stock option plans, the company may repurchase up to 200,000 ordinary shares for a maximum of EUR2.5 million.
Digital Value closed down 4.0%. Notably, Citadel Advisors trimmed its short position on the stock to 0.81% from 0.78%.
Aeffe also saw selling, dropping 1.5% to EUR0.52 per share, marking its fourth consecutive negative session.
Aedes was another notable loser, down 1.7% after gaining 1.1% in the previous session.
Among SMEs, Cloudia Research surged 16% following a 3.3% gain the previous day.
ATON Green Storage advanced 7.0%, bringing its monthly gain to 30%.
H-Farm--down 5.1%--reported that it closed the first half with a widened net loss year-on-year to EUR5.2 million from EUR4.2 million. Production value rose to EUR20.9 million from EUR19.1 million, while operating costs increased to EUR23.1 million from EUR21.1 million.
In New York on Friday evening, the Dow gained 0.1%, the Nasdaq closed down 0.3%, while the S&P 500 ended just below parity.
Across Asian markets, the Nikkei is down 1.3%, while the Hang Seng is off 1.6%. The Shanghai Composite in China remained closed for a holiday.
In currencies, the euro is trading at USD1.1382 from USD1.1351 on Friday evening, while the pound is at USD1.3502 from USD1.3476.
In commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD64.14 per barrel from USD62.48 per barrel on Friday evening, while gold is at USD3,327.81 an ounce from USD3,287.32 an ounce.
Monday's macroeconomic calendar features Italy's manufacturing PMI at 0945 CEST, followed by Germany at 0955 CEST and the Eurozone at 1000 CEST.
From the US, the manufacturing PMI is due at 1545 CEST, while Fed Chair Powell is scheduled to speak at 1900 CEST.
No corporate events are scheduled for the day.
By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News senior reporter
Comments and questions: redazione@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2025 Alliance News IS Italian Service Ltd. All rights reserved.
