(Alliance News) - On Friday, major European stock exchanges closed with sharp losses, with Milan's Mib index posting the worst performance of the day.
Crisis scenarios in France, with President Macron meeting party leaders in a bid to identify the new prime minister, were compounded by President Donald Trump's announcement of new tariffs against China, which he labeled as "hostile."
The price of gold stabilized after a record-breaking week, while silver hit an all-time high on Friday, surpassing the USD50.00 threshold.
In Italy, after two months of slight increases, industrial production fell by 2.4% in August compared to July, when it had risen by 0.4%. The decline was broad-based across all major industrial sectors.
Against this backdrop, the Mib ended trading down 1.7% at 42,047.50 points, the Mid-Cap lost 1.6% to 57,312.72, the Small-Cap dropped 1.9% to 37,124.22, and Italy Growth slipped 1.0% to 8,764.30 points.
Other European markets also closed in the red: the CAC 40 lost 1.5%, Frankfurt's DAX 40 fell 1.5%, and London's FTSE 100 ended down 0.9%.
Axel Rudolph, senior analyst at IG, noted: "The US dollar basket rose by nearly 1.5% due to political uncertainty in France and Japan, weighing on the euro and yen. The steady US consumer sentiment in October not only supported the greenback but also pushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 to new all-time highs."
In Milan, utilities led the way, with Italgas up 1.4% to EUR8.225 per share after completing the sale of 247,000 delivery points, as required by Antitrust authorities following its EUR5 billion-plus acquisition of 2i Rete Gas. Meanwhile, Syquant Capital raised its short position on Italgas to 0.91% from 0.86%.
Enel and Terna also performed well, rising 0.8% and 0.7% respectively. Snam climbed 0.9%, while Hera edged up 0.1%, rounding out the day's small group of gainers, which included only five stocks.
On the banking front, the European Commission is reportedly ready to act against Italy's Golden Power rules, which are seen as an obstacle to banking consolidation in Europe.
Brussels has criticized the Meloni government for imposing restrictions that limit competition and undermine bank independence, as seen in the cases of UniCredit (down 1.8%) and Banco BPM (down 2.1%).
In an interview, the CEO of Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which fell 1.1%, described Mediobanca (down 2.2%) as a primary focus and reiterated the importance of Generali (down 0.5%), calling it a "strategic and profitable asset" not tied to banking activity.
BNP Paribas announced a partnership with Stellantis, which dropped 7.3%, to support the used car market with an expanded range of insurance products and services for dealers and buyers.
Leonardo lost 4.6%, while Nexi, down 2.8%, appointed Maurizio Dainelli as a new non-executive board member by co-optation.
On the Mid-Cap, following the ProSieben deal, German subsidiary MFE-MediaForEurope appointed Michael Eifler and Simone Sole to the supervisory board with immediate effect, as per court instructions. MFE A shares lost 2.0%, while MFE B fell 2.2%.
Italmobiliare, down 2.1%, aims to streamline its portfolio, focusing on fewer but more strategic and long-term holdings, preferably with controlling stakes. After initial divestments started in 2021, the holding company plans further exits from mature assets by 2026, through sales or buybacks.
NewPrinces announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Princes Group PLC, has confirmed its intention to proceed with an initial public offering of its ordinary shares and to apply for admission to the Official List of the UK Financial Conduct Authority and trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. The stock suffered, falling 1.5%.
Cementir Holding topped the basket with a 2.9% gain, while Avio plunged about 13%, marking it as the session's worst performer.
On the Small-Cap, Netweek's shareholder Fortezza launched a restructuring proposal via a capital increase, sending the stock soaring by over 39%.
Elica, which acquired over 69,000 of its own shares for a total value of EUR114,508, closed flat at EUR1.77 per share.
Caleffi jumped 3.8% after a EUR34,187 buyback. Bastogi also performed well, gaining 6.4%.
Met.Extra Group, in its second consecutive losing session, dropped 7.4% today.
Among SMEs, Kruso Kapital issued a credit linked notes loan worth about EUR3.0 million, targeted at two investors, including Società di Gestione delle Partecipazioni in Banca Sistema. Kruso's shares closed flat at EUR1.80, while Banca Sistema retreated 2.3%.
Com.Tel surged 17% to EUR1.47, improving its performance over the last thirty days, when it had dropped 4.8%. Nextaly, 95% indirectly controlled by Davide Cilli, who held 57% of Comtel, transferred 1.8 million Com.Tel shares--equal to 10% of capital--to Cillinvest, another holding also controlled by Davide Cilli.
Portobello also performed well, soaring over 15%.
Among the worst performers were Porto Aviation Group, down 16%, and Mevim, posting its second straight session in the red, down 8.9%. Officine Stellari also dropped 13%.
In New York, the Dow was down 1.1%, the Nasdaq fell 2.0%, and the S&P 500 lost 1.5%.
On the currency front, the euro traded at USD1.1613 versus USD1.1581 at Thursday's equity close, while the pound was at USD1.3351 versus USD1.3333 the previous evening.
Among commodities, Brent crude traded at USD63.52 per barrel versus USD66.07 at yesterday's close, while gold was valued at USD4,004.27 an ounce, down from USD4,023.90 an ounce last night.
Looking ahead to Monday's economic calendar, when the Tokyo Stock Exchange will be closed for a national holiday, Chinese import-export data is expected from 0500 CEST, while Germany's wholesale price index will be released at 0800 CEST.
At 1200 CEST in the US, the International Monetary Fund summit will take place, followed by the OPEC monthly report at 1300 CEST.
No significant announcements are expected from Milan's Piazza Affari.
By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter
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