(Alliance News) - On Friday, at the halfway point of trading, major European markets continued to lose ground, with the Mib and the FTSE 100 posting the steepest percentage drops since the session began.
In the US, the longest government shutdown in history is now behind us, and attention is turning to the Federal Reserve's next moves regarding a possible rate cut in December. In China, equities plunged following the release of macroeconomic data that painted a picture of a fragile market.
Across the Old Continent, Eurozone GDP grew by 0.2% in the third quarter, while in Italy, exports rebounded in September, driven by markets outside the EU.
In this context, the Mib drops 1.2% to 44,230.04 points, the Mid-Cap sheds 1.6% to 57,318.41, the Small-Cap retreats 0.8% to 35,227.24, and the Italy Growth index falls 0.5% to 8,455.65 points.
Other markets are also in the red: Paris's CAC 40 by 0.9%, Frankfurt's DAX 40 by 0.9%, and London's FTSE 100 by 1.4%.
On Piazza Affari, Azimut rebounds with a 2.1% gain to EUR33.27 per share after the board, in a statement, downplayed issues raised by the Bank of Italy, announcing the continuation of a buyback plan and the TNB project. Yesterday, the stock lost 10% after a Bank of Italy inspection of Azimut Capital Management uncovered management shortcomings.
Enel, buoyed by its results, advances 0.1% after reporting nine-month revenues of EUR59.7 billion, up 3.6% from EUR57.6 billion in the same period of 2024, thanks mainly to higher commodity sales on the wholesale market amid rising prices.
Terna also performed well after its interim results, up 1.7%, supported by rising revenues and profits due to growth in both regulated and non-regulated activities, confirming targets for the year. Utilities led the index, helped by Snam, up 0.6%.
Banks fell to the bottom of the list, with Banca Popolare di Sondrio, Banco BPM, and BPER Banca down 3.2%, 3.3%, and 3.1% respectively.
Leonardo was the worst performer, falling 3.7% to EUR49.46.
Intesa Sanpaolo, through its IMI Corporate & Investment Banking division led by Mauro Micillo, is consolidating its role as a financial bridge to the US. In 2025, IMI CIB assisted international issuers in Yankee bond operations worth over USD23 billion and American companies in euro-denominated issues--Reverse Yankee--for about USD10 billion. The stock is down 2.2%.
On the Mid-Cap, Webuild, which confirmed its guidance, reported new orders--both acquired and under negotiation--of EUR9.3 billion, bringing total order acquisitions for 2023-2025 to around EUR45 billion. The stock is down 1.3%.
Fincantieri--down 4.0%--and KAYO announced they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to launch a joint venture dedicated to the construction and maintenance of military vessels in Albania.
The board of LU-VE, down 0.6%, approved results for the first nine months of 2025, posting a net profit of EUR28.3 million, equal to 6.4% of revenues, up from EUR26.8 million in the same period of 2024, or 6.1% of revenues.
Salvatore Ferragamo did better, up 0.5%, as did PharmaNutra, up 0.6%.
Moltiply sits at the bottom of the basket with a 5.5% drop to EUR39.60, despite results showing strong growth in all indicators. RaiWay also fell, closing 6.2% lower.
On the Small-Cap, Eurotech widened its loss to EUR8.9 million, up 13% from EUR7.9 million as of September 30, 2024. The stock gained 2.5%.
FNM, which increased its nine-month profit and reported higher revenues thanks to Nordcom, is up 0.4%.
Digital Bros returned to profit with EUR4.7 million, a significant improvement from the net loss of EUR2.3 million in the same period of 2024, and the stock soared 11% to EUR12.40 per share.
Aquafil, on the other hand, sharply declined by 15% to EUR1.488 after releasing 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--up 1.2%--increased its losses, now at EUR5.5 million, worsening from a loss of EUR1.0 million 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 its 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. Alantra confirmed its outlook after the results.
Cogefeed announced that the Energy Services Manager has issued a positive assessment for the CER "Padula FV02" project, confirming eligibility for the capital grant under the PNRR program.
Execus started with strong momentum, posting an 8.3% gain to EUR1.440 per share. Marked selling, however, hit Ena Italia, down 23% to EUR0.805 per share.
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 closed 1.7% lower at 6,737.49.
Among Asian markets, the Hang Seng dropped 1.9% to 26,572.46, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.0% to 3,990.49, and the Nikkei declined 1.8% to 50,377.00.
On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1613, down from USD1.1641 at Thursday's equity close, while the pound is at USD1.3144, down from USD1.3194 on Thursday evening.
Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD64.47 per barrel, up from USD63.10 at Thursday's close, while gold is valued at USD4,163.99 per ounce, down from USD4,206.35 last night.
On Friday's economic calendar, US unemployment data are due at 13:30 CET.
By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter
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