(Alliance News) - On Monday, the main Eurozone indices closed lower, with Milan's Piazza Affari slipping below the 40,000 mark. Among the major European stock exchanges, only London managed to finish just above parity.
"Investors have had an initial taste of the May data, but they still seem willing to take advantage of pullbacks," noted Chris Beauchamp, analyst at IG.
"Today's drop in the ISM PMI index could signal the direction data will take in the coming weeks," the expert added.
On the macroeconomic front, the US ISM manufacturing PMI fell to 48.5 in May from 48.7 in April, missing market expectations of 49.5.
Tariffs and trade policy continue to dominate the manufacturing landscape.
"The problem for investors is that it's unclear whether the suspensions and tariff deals seen so far will be enough to offset any disappointing data," Beauchamp explained.
For those who exited US stocks in April, the real question--according to the IG analyst--is whether they will stay out of the rally or re-enter, even cautiously. In that case, the market could continue to surprise on the upside.
Market sentiment is also weighed down by ongoing tensions between the US and China, with both Beijing and Washington trading accusations of violating their trade agreement.
Adding to the pressure was former President Trump's announcement that he intends to double tariffs on steel and aluminum, raising them from 25% to 50%. The decision sparked strong reactions from the EU and contributed to the decline in automotive stocks.
The FTSE Mib closed down 0.3% at 39,984.15, the Mid-Cap lost 0.4% to 54,290.51, the Small-Cap fell 0.7% to 31,571.89, while the Italy Growth index edged up 0.1% to 8,121.07.
London's FTSE 100 ended slightly higher, while Paris's CAC 40 and Frankfurt's DAX 40 both slipped 0.2%.
Back in Milan, on the Mib, the OPEC+ decision to increase production, coupled with a rally in oil prices, supported the energy sector, with Tenaris leading gains and closing up 5.0%.
Eni also saw buying interest, rising 1.5%, while Saipem gained 2.3%.
Italgas performed well, climbing 2.9% to EUR6.985 per share with over 7 million shares traded. Barclays cut its price target on the stock to EUR7.00 from EUR7.20.
Terna, Hera, and A2A also traded in positive territory, up 0.9%, 0.8%, and 0.2%, respectively.
Snam gained 0.9% after announcing Monday it had signed an agreement with the European Commission for EUR24 million in co-financing under the Connecting Europe Facility program, aimed at supporting strategic EU energy infrastructure projects.
During the session, the stock hit a new annual high of EUR5.308 per share.
On the downside, Leonardo closed 1.0% lower at EUR53.66, after hitting a 52-week high of EUR56.18 earlier in the day.
At the bottom of the main list were Iveco Group, down 3.9%, and Stellantis, down 5.0%, both penalized by Trump's threats to double steel tariffs.
On the Mid-Cap, Alerion Clean Power shone with a double-digit gain, closing up 14% and marking its fifth consecutive positive session.
Juventus Football Club also performed well, rising 6.4% after announcing the appointment of Damien Comolli as the club's new general manager.
MFE-MediaForEurope gained 1.1% to EUR3.274 with class A shares and 0.9% to EUR4.274 with class B shares.
As highlighted in the weekly analysis by Claudio Guerrini of Evaluation.it, MFE "shows risk in line with the market average--with a beta of 0.97--reflecting, on one hand, the dependence of revenues on the economic cycle, specifically advertising investments, and on the other, the geographical diversification of its activities."
Danieli & C fell 1.5%. On Friday, the company confirmed its presence in Japan with the sale of a new 320-ton steel plant to JFE Steel and the modernization of a Bar Mill facility for Godo Steel.
At the bottom of the secondary list, Industrie de Nora closed down 5.3%.
On the Small-Cap, Avio closed up 1.4%, with trading volumes near EUR4 million.
Among the decliners, Esprinet dropped 2.5% to EUR3.855 after hitting a new annual low of EUR3.84 per share.
Digital Value ended down 2.8%, with over EUR3 million traded. Meanwhile, Voleon Capital Management increased its short position on the stock to 1.51% from the previous 1.31%.
Among SMEs, Cloudia Research attracted strong market interest, rising 2.8% and recording the highest trading value of the session. The stock had posted gains in the previous two sessions as well.
TradeLab soared nearly 40%, closing at EUR4.81 per share and hitting a new high. The business analytics and consulting firm, listed on Euronext Growth Milan since last Thursday, has more than doubled its initial market capitalization.
E-Globe, up 0.7%, announced it closed 2024 with sales revenue of EUR26.8 million, including EUR4.1 million attributable to its subsidiary Climamarket Europe.
La Sia announced that Mare Engineering Group has completed the acquisition of approximately 71% of the company's capital from CSE Holding, Aspasia, and GLSR, holding companies controlled by long-standing shareholders Maurizio Ciardi, Mario Rampini, and Riccardo Sacconi.
La Sia gained 1.3%, while Mare Group closed up 0.5%.
Xenia Hotellerie Solution advanced 2.7% after announcing the signing of a preliminary agreement to acquire the four-star Hotel Palio di Asti for EUR2.4 million.
On the downside, Vantea SMART slipped 0.4%. The board approved the 2024 financial statements, closing with a group net profit of EUR500,000, down from EUR590,000 the previous year.
Clabo had a negative session, losing 6.6% after announcing that the board had met over the weekend to approve the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2024, which closed with a net loss of EUR4.1 million compared to a profit of EUR1.2 million the previous year.
In New York, the Dow was down 0.4%, the Nasdaq gained 0.2%, while the S&P 500 slipped fractionally.
In currencies, the euro traded at USD1.1423 from USD1.1351 on Friday evening, while the pound exchanged at USD1.3548 from USD1.3476 on Friday.
Among commodities, Brent crude traded at USD64.90 per barrel from USD62.48 per barrel on Friday, while gold was at USD3,398.70 per ounce from USD3,287.32 per ounce on Friday.
Tuesday's macroeconomic calendar opens at 0345 CEST with the release of China's Caixin Manufacturing PMI.
At 0900 CEST, Spain's unemployment rate is due, followed at 1000 CEST by Italy's unemployment data.
At 1100 CEST, two updates for the eurozone will be released: the consumer price index and the unemployment rate.
In the afternoon, at 1600 CEST, US factory orders and JOLTS job openings data will be published.
At 1800 CEST, Italy's car registration figures will be released.
The day will end at 2230 CEST with the publication of the US weekly oil inventory data.
Among companies on Piazza Affari, Reway Group's quarterly results are expected.
By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to redazione@alliancenews.com
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