(Alliance News) - European stock markets are set for a positive start to the week, with index futures pointing to moderate gains.

Attention remains focused on scheduled speeches by several members of the ECB's Governing Council, whose statements could provide crucial insights into monetary policy direction, as divergences persist between the inflation trajectory and the degree of monetary accommodation.

On the geopolitical front, markets showed a muted reaction to the latest wave of protectionist measures by U.S. President Donald Trump, who announced a 100% tariff on pharmaceutical products, along with additional duties on heavy trucks and furniture.

In this context, the Mib--after closing up 1.0% at 42,646.23 points on Friday evening--is currently showing a gain of 145.00 points.

Also on Friday, the Mid-Cap rose 0.4% to 59,090.14, the Small-Cap slipped 0.1% to 35,851.68, and Italy Growth advanced 0.2% to 8,591 points.

In Paris, the CAC 40 is up by 40.2 points, Frankfurt's DAX 40 is advancing by 96.90 points, and London's FTSE 100 is up by 35.80 points.

At Piazza Affari--in the last weekly session--Unipol led the gains with a 2.9% rise and over 1.1 million shares traded, following three consecutive losing sessions.

Assicurazioni Generali--up 2.5%--announced Thursday that it had successfully completed the placement of its first perpetual Restricted Tier 1 bond under the EUR15 billion EMTN program, raising a total of EUR500 million.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena reported the final results of its OPAS on Mediobanca, reaching 86.3% of its share capital. The new board of Piazzetta Cuccia, which will shrink from 15 to 11 members, must be finalized by Friday. MPS climbed 0.3% while Mediobanca rose 0.2%.

UniCredit is open to adding more German members to its board if it would help secure an agreement for the acquisition of Commerzbank AG, according to the Financial Times on Friday. The Piazza Gae Aulenti stock gained 1.6%.

Telecom Italia--up 1.4%--announced that the board of directors has co-opted Alessandra Perrazzelli.

Among the decliners, Stellantis fell 1.1%, STMicroelectronics dropped 2.0%, and Brunello Cucinelli, after being suspended from trading on Thursday due to allegations of business activities in Russia despite EU sanctions, lost 1.7%.

Eni--up 1.3%--released a statement Friday expressing "strong disagreement and deep surprise" at the sanction announced by the Competition and Market Authority, following a probe launched over two years ago into alleged restrictive agreements in the automotive fuel sector, specifically regarding the bio component of prices.

On the Mid-Cap, Fitch upgraded Iren's senior unsecured debt rating to 'BBB+' from 'BBB' and its hybrid bonds to 'BBB-' from 'BB+', following the recent improvement in Italy's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating. The stock was up 0.9%.

Juventus Football Club completed the issuance of a non-convertible bond worth EUR150 million, maturing in September 2037 with a fixed annual rate of 4.15%: the stock gained 1.0%.

Comer Industries led the index with a 4.8% rise, alongside Banco Desio Brianza up 3.2%, followed by Avio with a 1.7% gain.

MAIRE--up 0.8%--announced that its subsidiary NextChem and Siemens Energy have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on the development and commercialization of a high-temperature methanol fuel cell based on a new modular design.

The MFE - MediaForEurope board approved first-half results, with group net profit rising significantly to EUR130.2 million from EUR104.7 million in the same period of 2024. MFE A slipped 0.4%, while MFE B gained 0.1%.

On the Small-Cap, CSP International saw the strongest buying interest, up 5.3% to EUR0.319 per share.

Softlab--up 1.0%--closed the first half with a profit of EUR418,000, improving from a loss of EUR136,000 as of June 30, 2024.

Banca Profilo--up 3.4%--announced Friday that the board of directors has appointed Matteo Arpe as CEO, supported by two co-general managers. At the same time, Paolo Muselli, previously deputy general manager, was appointed chief financial officer.

The board of Digital Bros--down 6.4%--approved first-half results on Thursday, with net profit widening to EUR10.7 million compared to a loss of EUR6.2 million in the first half of 2024.

Digital Value--down 1.5%--reported closing the first half with net profit of EUR5 million, down from EUR22.4 million in the same period of 2024. Consolidated revenues stood at EUR302 million, a 33% decrease.

Among SMEs, Adventure posted a double-digit rise of 27%. Noteworthy were Neurosoft, up 11%, Tecma Solution, down 16%, and Compagnia dei Caraibi, down 18%.

Energy--down 3.5%--reported first-half results showing a net loss of EUR1.9 million, an improvement of 55% compared to the EUR4.2 million loss recorded in the same half of 2024.

Nocivelli ABP closed the 2024-2025 fiscal year with profit up 7.2% to EUR11.5 million versus EUR10.7 million as of June 30, 2024. The stock rose 1.6%.

Com.Tel--up 5.7%--on Friday approved a transaction to acquire the minority stake held by Nextaly Srl, equal to 10.7% of the latter's share capital.

Masi Agricola announced that the conditions precedent for the disbursement of a loan totaling EUR40 million have been met. The closing weighed on the stock, which fell 0.5%.

Notorious Pictures--up 2.0%--closed the first half with a net loss of EUR2.4 million, widening from a EUR1.5 million loss in the same period of 2024.

Fervi dropped 3.2% after reporting profit of EUR1.2 million, down 36% from EUR1.9 million in the same half of 2024.

Ilpra, on the other hand, closed with net profit of EUR1.6 million, down from EUR2.2 million in the same period last year. The stock finished down 2.6%.

In New York on Friday evening, the Dow closed up 0.7%, the Nasdaq rose 0.4%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.6%.

In Asia, the Nikkei is down 0.9%, the Shanghai Composite is up 1.3%, and the Hang Seng is up 2.1%.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1724 from USD1.1690 at Friday's equity close, while the pound is trading at USD1.3439 from USD1.3402 on Friday evening.

Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD69.76 per barrel from USD70.69 at Friday's close, while gold is valued at USD3,813.32 an ounce from USD3,779.71 an ounce on Friday.

On Monday's economic calendar, at 0900 CEST focus will be on Spain's consumer and producer price inflation, while at 1000 CEST Italy's trade balance data will be released.

From 1030 CEST, UK mortgage data will be in the spotlight, while from 1100 CEST, attention will turn to business, services, and consumer confidence in the Eurozone.

At 1600 CEST, focus in the U.S. will be on the housing market, while at 1930 CEST, a speech by FOMC's Williams is scheduled.

Numerous half-year results are expected from Piazza Affari.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News Reporter

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