Mib Edges Higher, Leonardo and TIM Lead Gains

(Alliance News) – After weeks marked by intense shocks, from Middle East conflicts to Donald Trump's tariff rhetoric, markets opened mixed on Thursday. Futures forecasts were confirmed for Piazza Affari, which opened in positive territory.

The FTSE Mib rose 0.2% to 39,377.21 points. Paris' CAC 40 was also up 0.2%, as was Frankfurt's DAX 40, which opened 0.4% higher, while London's FTSE 100 edged up slightly to 8,721 points.

The Mid-Cap index climbed 0.6% to 53,350.69, the Small-Cap advanced 0.7% to 31,333.68, and the Italy Growth index ticked up 0.1% to 8,147.36 points.

Back on Piazza Affari, Telecom Italia performed well with a 3% rise to €0.4213 per share, after Berenberg recommended a 'buy.'

Leonardo led the pack with a 2.2% increase to €47.25 per share.

Banca Mediolanum – up 0.6% – is reportedly considering selling its historic 4.5% stake in Mediobanca, which itself was up 0.5%, signaling its intention to stay out of the battle for control of Piazzetta Cuccia, according to Il Sole 24 Ore. Additionally, Mediobanca announced that shareholder Aurelia Srl sold call options on a total of 50,000 ordinary shares of the bank.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, up 0.5% to €7.382, announced it had successfully completed a EUR500 million Tier 2 subordinated bond issue, maturing in October 2035 with an early redemption option in October 2030.

Stellantis shares fell 0.7% after new CEO Antonio Filosa outlined plans to quadruple production volumes of the Fiat 500 at Mirafiori.

On the Mid-Cap index, Fincantieri led with a 4.1% gain to €5.04 per share, after announcing it had secured a €700 million contract to renew and strengthen the Italian Navy fleet.

Cementir Holding NV was included in the "World's Most Sustainable Companies 2025" ranking, compiled by Time and Statista, which selects the 500 global companies best combining financial strength and sustainability, Il Messaggero reported Thursday. The stock was up 0.1% at €14.58.

Ariston Holding closed the list with a 4.8% decline.

Among small caps, Tesselliss led with a 6.5% rise to €0.115 per share.

Additionally, the board of Pininfarina – which saw no trades today – approved a transaction for a loan from Tech Mahindra London Limited, part of the Tech Mahindra group and related to PF Holdings, Pininfarina's controlling shareholder, for a total of €6.0 million.

After a strong performance yesterday, I Grandi Viaggi fell back, down 7.8%.

Among SMEs, Svas Biosana – up 0.8% to €7.86 – announced it had signed a binding agreement to acquire 51% of Mehos, a company specializing in the marketing of medical devices, primarily for public healthcare facilities.

High Quality Food topped the list with an 8.3% surge, having improved its performance by 11% over the past month.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 was up 1.7%, the Shanghai Composite lost 0.2%, and the Hang Seng was down 0.6%.

Last night in New York, the Dow Jones closed at 42,982.43, down 0.3%; the Nasdaq gained 0.3% to 19,973.55, while the S&P 500 ended flat at 6,092.16.

In currencies, the euro traded at USD1.1694 versus USD1.1676 previously, while the pound traded at USD1.3721 from USD1.3703 in the last session.

In commodities, Brent crude traded at USD67.68 per barrel, unchanged from the previous close, while gold was at USD3,345.18 an ounce, up from USD3,332.575 an ounce previously.

On the macroeconomic front, Thursday will be another quiet morning for Asia and the EU, with short-term government bond auctions in Japan and Italy and speeches from ECB's Schnabel and De Guindos.

In the afternoon, the focus shifts to the US, where at 1430 CEST, data will be released on jobless claims, core PCE, durable goods, and, most importantly, GDP.

The stream of US macro data continues at 1600 CEST with housing market numbers, at 1630 CEST with gas inventory figures, and at 2230 CEST with the Federal Reserve's balance sheet.

Among Piazza Affari companies, results are expected today from Bestbe Holding, Giocamondo Study, I Grandi Viaggi, Landi Renzo, and Neosperience.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter

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