(Alliance News) - European stock indices are set for a negative open, according to futures markets, reflecting a deterioration in global sentiment as geopolitical tensions intensify and central banks adopt a more cautious stance.

US sources indicate that Washington is considering targeted military action against Tehran, a scenario that reignites fears of regional escalation and deeper American military involvement in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve has opted to hold rates steady, maintaining a wait-and-see approach due to emerging inflationary risks linked to the Trump administration's tariff policies.

In Europe, market attention is focused on upcoming monetary policy decisions: the Bank of England is expected to maintain the status quo, while the Swiss National Bank could move to cut rates.

The FTSE Mib--after closing up 0.1% at 39,418.61 points last night--is currently down by 17.00 points.

Among European markets, London's FTSE 100 is seen down 18.0 points, Paris's CAC is expected to drop 46.0 points, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 is set to fall by 172.0 points.

Among the secondary indices, last night the Mid-Cap fell 0.1% to 53,543.21 points, the Small-Cap gained 0.5% to 30,981.05 points, and Italy Growth rose 0.5% to 8,115.60 points.

On the Mib, Telecom Italia closed up 4.7% at EUR0.407 per share.

Eni, which gained 0.2% to EUR14.17, announced it had continued its buyback program with the purchase of treasury shares worth EUR50 million.

Terna reported Wednesday that electricity demand in Italy for May stood at 24.2 billion kWh, down 2.7% from May 2024. The decline is attributed to one fewer working day and lower average temperatures. Renewables met 55.9% of demand in May, marking a historic record. Terna closed flat at EUR8.87 per share.

UniCredit announced the issuance of a 12-year Tier 2 subordinated bond, callable after seven years, targeted at institutional investors. The issue amounted to EUR1 billion, marking the first Tier 2 issuance of 2025, and will pay a fixed coupon of 4.175% until June 2032, with an issue price of 99.9%, equivalent to a spread of 180 basis points over the mid-swap rate. UniCredit closed up 0.9% at EUR56.49 per share.

Leonardo--down 0.2% at EUR48.14--aims to finalize a joint venture by July to relaunch the Grottaglie plant in its aerostructures division. A decision on the Bromo project with Thales and Airbus, aimed at strengthening Europe's position in satellite constellations, is also expected in July.

Iveco Group was the worst performer on the index, falling 2.1% to EUR15.65 per share.

On the Mid-Cap, OVS led after releasing slightly improved quarterly results--EUR354 million versus EUR352 million in the same period last year--and renewing talks to acquire Goldenpoint "to accelerate brand relaunch and fully realize synergies." OVS rose 3.7% to EUR3.56 per share.

Lottomatica launched a EUR500 million buyback plan and ended the day down 1.3% at EUR22.94.

BFF Bank performed well, up 1.9% at EUR8.95 and continuing its positive trend over the past thirty days after Moody's affirmed the bank's ratings, following its recent upgrade of Italy's Baa3 rating outlook to positive from stable and the macro profile to Strong from Strong-.

Alerion ended the session down 2.3% at EUR16.14 per share.

Among small caps, Cy4gate posted the best result of the day, rising 7.1% to EUR5.26. Over the past month, after announcing contracts worth over EUR2 million and appointing Enrico Peruzzi as a new board member, the stock has climbed 24%.

Fiera Milano announced it had won the tender launched by Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 for the design, management, and dismantling of temporary infrastructures at the Rho exhibition center, which will host skating and ice hockey events. The total cost is EUR30.7 million under the Interim Agreement. Additionally, the company reported progress in its buyback plan, with nearly EUR400,000 in treasury shares purchased. Fiera Milano advanced 2.4% to EUR5.91 per share.

Class Editori continued to slide, dropping over 9% and losing momentum after gaining nearly 96% in the past month.

Among SMEs, Bellini Nautica closed up 7.7% at EUR3.20 per share; Ecomembrane followed with a 7.2% increase.

On Wednesday, eVISO announced the strengthening of its direct electricity and gas sales network, adding two new sales representatives in Alessandria, Piedmont, and three in Genoa, Liguria. In addition, Pandora acquired eVISO shares worth EUR98,000. eVISO shares closed up 3.8% at EUR10.34.

Simone also launched a buyback program of up to EUR450,000, set to run for the next 18 months.

ErreDue announced it had signed a contract to sell a containerized electrolyzer for hydrogen production worth about EUR1.4 million with RES - Recupero Etico Sostenibile. The plant, to be installed at RES's Pettoranello del Molise site, will produce about 52 tonnes of green hydrogen annually. ErreDue closed up 2.7% at EUR7.70 per share.

Mare Group--down 1.4% at EUR3.57--acquired over EUR1 million in Eles shares.

In New York last night, the Dow slipped 0.1%, the Nasdaq edged up 0.1%, while the S&P 500 closed just below flat.

In Asia, the Nikkei lost 0.9%, the Hang Seng is down 2.0%, and the Shanghai Composite is off 0.9%.

In currencies, the euro is trading at USD1.1455, down from USD1.1507 on Wednesday evening, while the pound is at USD1.3393 from USD1.3452 yesterday evening.

In commodities, Brent is trading at USD76.81 a barrel, up from USD75.48 at the previous close, while gold is valued at USD3,350.55 an ounce, down from USD3,385.56 at the previous close.

Thursday's economic calendar features a speech by the vice president of Germany's Bundesbank at 1030 CEST, followed by remarks from Nagel.

At 1100 CEST, Eurozone construction production data will be released, while the Eurogroup meeting and another speech by Lagarde are scheduled for later in the morning. The Bank of England's interest rate decision is expected at 1300 CEST.

No significant news is expected from Piazza Affari today.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News Reporter

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