Piazza Affari suffered a sharply negative session today, mirroring the widespread losses across European stock markets. Investors were rattled by ongoing uncertainty over trade tariffs and a fresh escalation in Middle East tensions between Israel and Iran.

According to one trader, Milan's downturn was particularly pronounced due to steep declines in banking shares, given the sector's heavy weighting within the blue-chip index.

The much-anticipated U.S.-China tariff agreement, announced yesterday by President Donald Trump, still awaits final approval from the Chinese president and, crucially, lacks clear details. Amid this uncertainty, investors are shifting toward safer assets.

Meanwhile, renewed Middle East tensions sent Brent crude oil prices soaring by 4% yesterday, pushing them to their highest levels in over two months.

On the macroeconomic front, markets are awaiting this afternoon's release of weekly U.S. jobless claims, estimated at 240,000.

Around 12:55 local time, the FTSE MIB index was down more than 1%, slipping once again below the psychological threshold of 40,000 points, with trading volumes at approximately €1.2 billion.

Stocks in focus today:

Cyclical stocks, closely tied to economic trends, faced heavy selling. In the luxury sector, Ferragamo fell 3.2% and Moncler dropped 2.2%. Auto stocks also struggled, with Stellantis down 2.9% and Ferrari losing 3%.

STM shares were also under pressure, dropping 2.9%, weighed down by expectations of a negative open for the Nasdaq later today.

Maire suffered technical selling, slipping 2.75% to €10.96 following a placement via ABB of 1.5% of its capital at €10.25 per share, representing a 9% discount to yesterday's close. According to Equita, "the decision for the ABB is reasonably linked to the liquidity of the stock and the size of the placement."

Banks were broadly sold off, with the sector index down 1.3%. Major players UniCredit and Intesa shed between 1.4% and 1.1%.

The oil sector provided a rare bright spot following the surge in crude prices: Eni gained 0.7%, while Saipem was little changed.

Leonardo remained volatile, succumbing once again to profit-taking and falling 1.7%.

Buzzi also declined, retreating 2%.

(Reporting by Giancarlo Navach, editing by Stefano Bernabei)