(Alliance News) - On Friday, European markets opened in negative territory. In the United States, after closing the longest government shutdown in history, attention turns once again to the possibility of an interest rate cut. However, comments from Jerome Powell indicate a wait-and-see approach, with the likelihood of a rate cut now priced at 45%.
In China, stocks tumbled following the release of industrial production and retail sales data for October, both of which slowed, highlighting a weakening of economic activity.
As a result, the Mib fell by 0.9% to 44,374.12 points, the Mid-Cap dropped by 0.9% to 57,717.86, the Small-Cap slipped by 0.4% to 35,370.31, and the Italy Growth index lost 0.4% to 8,458.78 points.
Other major indices also opened lower in early trading: Paris' CAC 40 down 0.4%, Frankfurt's DAX down 0.7%, and London's FTSE 100 down 1.1%.
On the Milan Stock Exchange, Azimut rebounded with a 1.1% gain to EUR32.92 per share after the board, in a statement, downplayed concerns raised by the Bank of Italy and confirmed both its buyback plan and the TNB project. Yesterday, the stock had plunged 10% after a Bank of Italy inspection of Azimut Capital Management revealed management shortcomings.
Enel, boosted by its financial results, advanced 1.5% after reporting nine-month revenues of EUR59.7 billion, up 3.6% from EUR57.6 billion in the same period of 2024. This increase was mainly due to higher commodity sales on the wholesale market amid rising prices.
Terna also performed well after releasing interim results, gaining 1.1%, supported by higher revenues and profits driven by growth in both regulated and non-regulated activities, confirming its targets for the current year.
Banks fell to the bottom of the index, with Banca Popolare di Sondrio, Banco BPM, and BPER Banca down 2.9%, 2.8%, and 2.7%, respectively.
Intesa Sanpaolo, through its IMI Corporate & Investment Banking division led by Mauro Micillo, is strengthening its role as a financial bridge to the United States. In 2025, IMI CIB assisted international issuers in Yankee bond operations totaling over USD 23 billion and American companies in euro-denominated issues--Reverse Yankee--amounting to approximately USD 10 billion. The stock was down 1.5%.
On the Mid-Cap, Webuild, which confirmed its guidance, reported new orders--including contracts acquired and under negotiation--of EUR9.3 billion, bringing the total order intake for 2023-2025 to about EUR45 billion. The stock was down 1.2%.
Fincantieri, down 0.7%, and KAYO announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a joint venture dedicated to building and maintaining military vessels in Albania.
The board of LU-VE, which fell 1.1%, approved the results for the first nine months of 2025, reporting a net profit of EUR28.3 million, equal to 6.4% of revenues, up from EUR26.8 million or 6.1% of revenues in the same period of 2024.
Salvatore Ferragamo performed well with a 2.4% gain at the start of the session, followed by De' Longhi, up 0.8% on the back of positive interim results.
Moltiply dropped to the bottom of the basket with a 3.3% decline to EUR40.50, despite strong growth across all indicators in its results.
On the Small-Cap, Eurotech widened its loss to EUR8.9 million, a 13% increase compared to the EUR7.9 million loss recorded as of September 30, 2024. The stock was down 0.7%.
FNM, which increased its nine-month profit and posted higher revenues thanks to Nordcom, was up 1.1%.
Digital Bros returned to profit with EUR4.7 million, a significant improvement over the net loss of EUR2.3 million in the same period of 2024, with the stock soaring 13% to EUR12.62 per share.
Aquafil, on the other hand, slumped by 13% to EUR1.522 after presenting nine-month results showing a profit of EUR424,000, compared to a loss of EUR8.8 million in the first nine months of 2024.
Pininfarina, down 1.4%, saw losses rise to EUR5.5 million, a deterioration from the EUR1.0 million loss recorded in the same period of 2024.
On the Italy Growth index, Alfonsino expanded its delivery service to Reggio Calabria after launching in Messina. The stock rose 2.7%.
Lindbergh, with no trading activity, acquired a business unit from SDS Service Srl, a Lombardy-based company operating in the collection, transport, and recovery of special waste in the province of Milan.
The board of Franchi Umberto Marmi, down 2.9%, approved the results for the first nine months of 2025, closing with total revenues of EUR55.9 million, down from EUR61.8 million in the same period of 2024.
Cogefeed announced that the Energy Services Manager has approved the CER "Padula FV02" project, confirming its eligibility for the capital grant provided under the PNRR.
Execus started with strong momentum, posting gains of 8.3% to EUR1.430 per share. Riba Mundo Tecnologia, on the other hand, saw sharp selling, down 4.7%.
In New York, during the European night, the Dow closed down 1.7% at 47,457.22, while the Nasdaq fell 2.3% to 22,870.36, and the S&P 500 declined 1.7% to 6,737.49.
Among Asian markets, the Hang Seng dropped 1.8% to 26,581.50, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.0% to 3,990.49, and the Nikkei lost 1.8% to 50,376.53.
On the currency front, the euro traded at USD 1.1631, down from USD 1.1641 at Thursday's equity close, while the pound stood at USD 1.3140, down from USD 1.3194 on Thursday evening.
In commodities, Brent was trading at USD 63.67 per barrel, up from USD 63.10 per barrel at Thursday's close, while gold was valued at USD 4,182.54 per ounce, down from USD 4,206.35 per ounce last night.
On Friday's economic calendar, starting from 11:00 CET, attention turns to employment levels in the Eurozone and Gross Domestic Product data.
US unemployment data is scheduled for 13:30 CET.
By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter
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