European markets in the red on Fed Day, Mib at 43,400

(Alliance News) - On Wednesday, the main European stock markets closed lower. Although the Federal Reserve's decision appears to be a foregone conclusion, with a 25 basis point cut in interest rates, today's session was characterized by selling.

As for the European Central Bank, on the contrary, it seems equally predictable that rates will remain unchanged, even if the possibility of an upward trend in 2026 is gaining ground.

The MIB closed down 0.3% at 43,465.34, the Mid-Cap fell 0.6% to 58,326.21, the Small-Cap gained 0.1% to 36,131.82, and the Italy Growth lost 0.3% to 8,422.72 points.

The CAC 40 in Paris fell 0.5%, the DAX 40 in Frankfurt fell 0.2%, and the FTSE 100 in London closed up 0.1%.

Chris Beauchamp of IG noted: "Indecision dominates the markets today, and indeed throughout the week, as we wait to hear what Jerome Powell will say. Aggressive cut, accommodative stance, or a surprise?" The announcement of the decision is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. CET.

"By the time the next Fed meeting comes around, Trump may have already chosen who to replace Powell, so this could be the last time the Fed chairman's words will really carry weight," the analyst said.

On the Milan Stock Exchange, Lottomatica shares rose, leading the market with a 2.5% increase to EUR21.78 per share.

The board of directors of Monte dei Paschi - down 0.5% - will meet on December 18 for the last ordinary meeting of the year, an opportunity to take stock of the twenty projects underway in the integration of the business with Mediobanca, which grew by 0.3%.

UniCredit, on the other hand, is rapidly continuing its exit from Moscow. The group led by Andrea Orcel has reportedly sold the entire long-term portfolio of its subsidiary UniCredit-Leasing to Russia's Pr-Leasing, amounting to contracts worth RUB3 billion, equivalent to EUR34 million. The stock gained 1.6%.

Stellantis - up 0.7% - is shifting its focus to autonomous driving with a new agreement while facing industrial difficulties related to the Stla Small platform for small cars, originally designed by PSA as an electric base and frozen for six months in 2024 during Carlos Tavares' management.

Telecom Italia, which fell 0.4%, announced the resignation of independent director Umberto Paolucci, who will leave the company's board of directors on January 1, 2026, for professional reasons.

Ferrari, which updated its 52-week low to EUR313.50 per share, closed down 4.4%, making it the worst performer of the day.

On the Mid-Cap, Credito Emiliano, up 0.1%, announced that, in execution of the respective resolutions, the partial demerger of Euromobiliare Advisory SIM in favor of Credito Emiliano and Euromobiliare Asset Management SGR had been signed, effective January 1, 2026.

Banca Ifis signed the contract for the sale of illimity Bank's 50% stake in Hype, with the transfer to Banca Sella.

The transaction involves a consideration of EUR 85 million and allows Banca Ifis to obtain an estimated capital benefit of approximately 55 bps on the CET1 ratio. The stock recorded sales of 2.1%.

Intercos rose 4.0%, while BFF Bank fell 9.5% after Standard Ethics, an independent sustainability rating agency, improved the bank's outlook from 'stable' to 'positive', confirming the corporate Standard Ethics Rating at 'EE-'.

In the small-cap segment, Fidia - flat at EUR0.1140 per share - announced that Global Growth Holding Limited had requested the conversion of 10 bonds from the convertible bond cum warrant reserved for subscription to GGHL. The conversion price was EUR0.10 per share, which resulted in the issuance of a total of 1.0 million Fidia shares to GGHL. Fidia's share capital will be increased by EUR100,000 to EUR9.2 million, and the total number of shares will be 23.8 million.

BF announced on Tuesday that Riccardo Bovino, non-executive director and member of the Appointments and Remuneration Committee, has resigned from his position as director with effect from December 6, due to "personal commitments."

There were good purchases for 4.2% on Eurotech, while the most significant sales were recorded on Netweek shares, which fell by 14%.

Among SMEs, Più Medical signed a binding term sheet with the IPO Club 2 fund managed by Azimut Investments S.A., with Electa Ventures as partner and strategic advisor, for a P.I.P.E. investment to support the capital increase already approved by the company. The fund will invest a total of EUR 5 million, while the founding shareholders will contribute a total of 700,000 Più Medical ordinary shares. The stock gained 1.2%.

Maps, down 0.3%, announced that its subsidiary Maps Healthcare has been awarded the renewal of its agreement with the Emilia-Romagna Region for assistance, maintenance, and professional support for the applications used by healthcare companies in the region.

The new three-year agreement is worth a maximum of approximately EUR 11.8 million.

Mare Engineering Group, down 0.3%, asked Eles, down 0.4%, to convene a shareholders' meeting to increase the board of directors from six to nine members, introducing three independent directors in order to strengthen transparency in the management of the company, which is currently the subject of two competing takeover bids.

Tenax International saw good buying at 11% to EUR1.517 per share. Estrima was at the bottom of the list with double-digit sales of 14%.

In New York, the Dow Jones rose 0.5%, the Nasdaq fell 0.2%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.1%.

On the currency front, the euro traded at USD 1.1648 from USD 1.1639 at Tuesday's stock market close, while the pound traded at USD 1.3333 from USD 1.3314 last night.

Among commodities, Brent crude traded at USD 61.48 per barrel from USD 61.98 per barrel at yesterday evening's close, while gold was worth USD 4,201.38 per ounce from USD 4,214.34 per ounce yesterday evening.

On Thursday's economic calendar, at 1000 CET, the IEA monthly report will be released, along with Italian unemployment figures.

At 10:50 CET, BoE Governor Bailey will speak, and at 11:30 CET, there will be a three-year BPT auction.

At 12:00 CET, the Italian Thomson Reuters IPSOS index will be released, and at 13:00 CET, OPEC's monthly report will be released.

At 2230 CET, the Federal Reserve's balance sheet will be released.

On the Italian stock exchange, Abitare In's results are expected.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter

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