(Alliance News) – On Thursday, major European indices posted slight gains, buoyed in part by easing trade tensions between the US and China. The exception was the Mib, which was dragged down by turmoil in the banking sector and the resulting negative performance of bank stocks.

Investors are now awaiting US labor data, which is expected to influence subsequent Federal Reserve policy decisions. This comes as US political leaders continue to struggle to reach consensus on the vote for Donald Trump's so-called "big beautiful bill."

On the tariffs front, Vietnam has reached an agreement with the US, but the July 9 deadline looms, at which point the current US tariff freeze with all trading partners is set to expire.

In Italy, the FTSE Mib fell 0.4% to 39,619.21 points, the Mid-Cap slipped 0.1% to 53,853.19, the Small-Cap gained 0.5% to 31,909.24, while the Italia Growth index was down 0.1% at midday, at 8,217.73 points.

Paris' CAC 40 edged down 0.1%, Frankfurt's DAX 40 rose 0.1%, and London's FTSE 100 climbed 0.5%.

Back in Milan, the leading stocks on the main index mirrored Wednesday's close, with Campari topping the list thanks to a 1.2% increase to EUR6.116 per share.

STMicroelectronics advanced 1.0% after a strong 5.3% surge in the previous session. Barclays raised its target price on the stock to EUR22.00 from EUR16.00, following upward revisions from both UBS and Oddo BHF announced yesterday.

Banking sector turbulence hit Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which slipped 0.5%. The bank announced it had received authorization from the Antitrust Authority for its public exchange offer for all Mediobanca shares. Mediobanca was flat at EUR18.50 per share, following the completion of a EUR385 million buyback program.

BPER Banca also saw declines, down 0.6%. On Wednesday, the bank confirmed that, regarding its public exchange offer for Banca Popolare di Sondrio (down 0.8%), the Antitrust Authority had approved the acquisition, conditional upon the sale of six branches—five from BPER and one from PopSondrio—to other banking operators within ten months of the authorization date.

UniCredit has opened talks with the German government to advance its proposed merger with Commerzbank. UniCredit shares were down 0.9% to EUR56.22. Discussions with the German government are ongoing.

On the Mid-Cap index, Ariston Holding led the way, rising 1.7% to EUR4.42 per share, extending a strong first half that has seen the stock gain 23%.

Next was Newprinces, up 1.5% to EUR17.28 per share, with 102 contracts executed and 7,863 shares traded.

TXT e-Solutions also stood out, rising 1.5% after announcing the acquisition of a minority stake in Altilia, an Italian deep-tech company specializing in artificial intelligence.

Lottomatica was the worst performer, down 3.0% after announcing the appointment of CEO Guglielmo Angelozzi as the new executive chairman.

Alerion fell 2.2%, after hitting a new annual high of EUR19.96 per share in the previous session.

Among small caps, Softlab led for the second consecutive session, continuing a strong month that has boosted its share price by 3.5%. Nearly 13,000 shares changed hands on Thursday.

Fidia, bringing up the rear, announced the issuance and subscription by GGHL of the first tranche of a convertible bond with warrants, as approved by the March 31 extraordinary shareholders' meeting. The stock dropped 4.2% to EUR0.426.

Bestbe Holding closed the list, falling 6.3% after setting a new 52-week low at EUR0.10 per share yesterday.

EPH rebounded, gaining nearly 6% to EUR0.125.

On the Italia Growth index, Alfonsino rose 4.8% on the back of a partnership with Eufarma for delivery services in 70 Italian pharmacies.

Haiki+ also performed well, up 2.0% in line with the previous session. The company announced the acquisition of Ecobat Resources for EUR22.9 million. The deal adds around EUR100 million in revenue to Haiki+'s existing EUR250 million.

eVISO fell 2.8% after Pandora sold 9,800 of its own ordinary shares on June 30 at an average price of EUR10.50, for a total of EUR102,900, according to a statement released Wednesday.

Mare Engineering Group reported Wednesday that it had surpassed the 20% threshold of Eles Semiconductor Equipment's share capital, now holding just over 20% of ordinary shares and about 19% of voting rights. Mare Group shares slipped 1.5%, while Eles dropped 0.5%.

On Wall Street Wednesday evening, the Dow closed marginally lower, the Nasdaq finished up 0.9%, and the S&P 500 gained 0.5%.

In Asia, the Nikkei closed up 0.1%, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.2%, while the Hang Seng fell 0.6%.

In currency markets, the euro traded at USD1.1791, up from USD1.1767 at Wednesday's close, while the pound was at USD1.3659 from USD1.3594 the previous evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude traded at USD68.51 a barrel, up from USD667.56 at the previous close, while gold stood at USD3,350.58 an ounce, up from USD3,337.91 an ounce the previous evening.

On Thursday's economic calendar, US markets will close at 1900 CEST for Independence Day celebrations.

The European Central Bank will publish the minutes from its monetary policy meeting at 1330 CEST.

From 1430 CEST, a string of US economic indicators is due, covering government payrolls, imports, unemployment, exports, and jobless claims.

At 1600 CEST, the US will release new data on manufacturing indices, factory orders, and durable goods.

At 1800 CEST, Italy will release data on new car registrations.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter

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