European stock markets rise; Eurozone inflation at 2%

(Alliance News) - European stock markets are trading in positive territory on Thursday, with attention still focused on the tariff issue, with intense talks between the US and the EU to renegotiate the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump and avoid a trade escalation.

In macroeconomic news, inflation in the Eurozone rose to 2.0%, up from the eight-month low of 1.9% recorded in May and in line with the European Central Bank's official target. The data was released on Thursday by Eurostat.

The FTSE Mib is up 0.5% to 39,954.15 points. Among the smaller indices, the Mid-Cap rose 0.9% to 55,332.93 points, the Small-Cap was up 0.9% to 32,014.34, and the Italy Growth fell 0.2% to 8,259.46 points.

On the European front, the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.9%, the DAX 40 in Frankfurt rose by the same percentage, and the FTSE 100 in London gained 0.4%.

On the main index of the Italian stock exchange, Prysmian took the top spot on the Mib, rising 4.1%. STMicroelectronics also performed well, up 3.2%.

Stellantis recovered to close the podium, rising 1.9% today after yesterday's 6.2% loss. The company announced on Wednesday that it will discontinue its hydrogen fuel cell technology development program due to the lack of prospects for the sector. The automaker said it does not expect to adopt hydrogen-powered light commercial vehicles before the end of the decade.

This is due to the limited availability of hydrogen refueling infrastructure, high capital requirements, and the need for "greater consumer purchase incentives," Stellantis added.

Italgas is up 1.9% to EUR7.03 per share after renewing an agreement with Cadent for decarbonization.

Among the losers, Buzzi sits at the bottom, down 3.3%. Other utilities are also struggling, with Hera and Terna down 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.

Intesa Sanpaolo, up 0.2%, announced on Wednesday that its Insurance division has expanded its offering in the life segment with the launch of "Patrimonio Garanzia," a new whole life policy with guaranteed invested capital, aimed at a broad customer base up to 90 years of age.

Eni, down 0.6%, announced on Wednesday the signing of a long-term liquefied natural gas supply agreement with Venture Global. As the company explained in a statement, Eni will purchase 2 million tons per year for 20 years from Phase 1 of the CP2 LNG liquefaction project, with deliveries starting at the end of the decade.

Meanwhile, after the letter in which the European Commission "dismantled" the government's Golden Power regarding UniCredit's offer for BPM, Piazza Gae Aulenti is negotiating with Consob to postpone the public offer. UniCredit shares rose 0.5%, while Banco BPM shares rose 0.1%.

On the Mid-Cap, BFF Banck rose 4.0%, with El.En. advancing by the same percentage.

Webuild - up 0.8% - announced on Wednesday a new award for Lane, the group's US subsidiary, which has been awarded a USD 337 million contract, equivalent to EUR 288 million, for the design and construction of expansion and modernization works along Interstate 85 (I-85) in Gaston County, North Carolina.

Italmobiliare - up 1.3% - announced on Tuesday evening that, between July 8 and 14, a total of 17,790 treasury shares were purchased for a total value of approximately EUR 491,000.

Lottomatica Group gained 1.0%. The company announced on Wednesday that it had purchased treasury shares for a total value of EUR 3.0 million.

Alerion closed the day down 2.5% with 95 contracts traded.

On the Small-Cap market, CY4Gate rose 5.7% after announcing on Thursday that it had signed an 18-month contract worth a total of EUR 9.9 million with a leading European institutional customer for the acquisition of Decision Intelligence technologies and upgrades.

Olidata topped the list with a 13% increase to EUR2.388 per share. Consob has exempted the company from monthly reporting requirements. In this regard, Olidata's Chairman, Cristiano Rufini, stated that "Olidata's removal from the blacklist is another important step forward, adding to the successful conclusion of the composition procedure and the readmission of the company's shares to trading on the regulated market."

Somec rose 2.1% after announcing on Thursday that it had updated commercial agreements worth over EUR 57 million for its Horizons division, which manufactures engineered systems for naval architecture and civil facades.

Piquadro - flat at EUR 2.44 - announced on Wednesday that consolidated revenue for the first three months of the 2025-2026 financial year, ended June 30, 2025, amounted to EUR 36.8 million, up 2.0% compared to the same period of the previous year, which ended with EUR 36.1 million.

Bastogi closed the day down 4.7%.

On the Italy Growth index, the best performance was by Doxee, which rose 14% after recently obtaining B-Corp certification, followed by GEL, which increased 5.0% to EUR2.10 per share.

RedFish LongTerm Capital, up 1.3%, announced on Wednesday that it had strengthened its presence in the aerospace sector. Through its subsidiary Movinter, RFLTC finalized the acquisition of 91.5% of Alpi Aviation, a long-standing Friuli-based manufacturer of light aircraft, helicopters, and unarmed drones.

The transaction is worth EUR 3.7 million.

Saccheria F.lli Franceschetti rose 0.9%. On Wednesday, the company reported operating revenues of EUR 10.2 million as of June 30, compared to EUR 9.2 million as of June 30, 2024.

Alfonsino - up 1.9% - announced on Wednesday the launch of the 'Order Now' feature via Google Action Center. The latter is Google's platform that allows users to perform quick actions directly from search results.

As Alfonsino explains, thanks to this integration, users can now find restaurants and partners affiliated with Alfonsino directly on Google and order online in a simple and immediate way.

Directa SIM reported that it closed the first half of 2025 with record results in its three key growth drivers: number of customers, total assets, and number of trades executed. The stock rose 0.4%.

Nusco, down 5.2%, slipped to the bottom of the list at EUR1.08 per share.

In New York, during the European night, the Dow closed up 0.5% at 44,254.78, while the Nasdaq closed up 0.3% at 20,730.49 and the S&P 500 closed up 0.3% at 6,263.70.

In Asia, the Hang Seng lost 0.1%, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.4%, while the Nikkei gained 0.6%.

On the currency front, the euro traded at USD 1.1595 from USD 1.1690 at Wednesday's close, while the pound traded at USD 1.3398 from USD 1.3458 on Wednesday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude oil traded at USD 68.45 per barrel, up from USD 67.93 at the previous close, while gold was worth USD 3,329.62 per ounce, down from USD 3,360.11 on Wednesday evening.

As for Thursday's economic calendar, at 1430 CEST, retail sales data will be released in the US. In the afternoon, members of the Federal Reserve will also speak.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter

Comments and questions to [e-mail]

Copyright 2025 Alliance News IS Italian Service Ltd. All rights reserved.