European Futures Tread Water as Tariff Deadline Looms

(Alliance News) - On Monday, European markets are poised for a mixed open. The looming July 9 tariff deadline is stirring up market jitters, even as the EU signals its readiness to quickly strike a deal with Donald Trump.

Via his social network, the US president announced he is prepared to send "letters" to trade partners should no agreement be reached. In the same post, he indicated further tariffs are planned for pro-BRICS countries.

Meanwhile, efforts continue--amid considerable difficulty--to broker a ceasefire in Gaza in the Middle East.

Futures markets show the FTSE Mib down 65 points or 0.2%, after closing Friday with a 0.8% drop at 39,622.11 points.

Across Europe, London's FTSE 100 is indicated down 0.2% at 20.8 points, Paris's CAC 40 is expected to fall 4.7 points, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 is set to rise 23.8 points or 0.1%.

On Friday, among Italy's secondary indexes, the Mid-Cap closed 0.5% lower at 54,007.75 points, the Small-Cap edged up to 32,058.57, and the Italy Growth segment ended the session up 0.3% at 8,256.63 points.

On the main board, just eight blue-chip stocks closed in positive territory on Friday.

Recordati led the pack, rising 1.0% to EUR54.05 per share.

Snam performed well, up 0.2% after a morning summit at the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT) between Minister Adolfo Urso and Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, focusing on energy supply for the decarbonization plan of former steelmaker Ilva.

This "technical" meeting included Snam CEO Agostino Scornajenchi and technical representatives from the company, MIMIT, and the Ministry for the Environment and Energy Security (MASE).

Amplifon also posted a strong showing, gaining 0.9% to EUR20.45, extending its positive run over the last month to a 0.7% gain over the past thirty days.

Banca Popolare di Sondrio climbed 0.8% to EUR11.835 per share after BPER Banca--down 2.0%--increased the cash component in its voluntary public exchange offer, adding EUR1.00 per tendered share.

In the ongoing banking consolidation, UniCredit, down 1.0%, is awaiting a decision on "golden power" regarding its takeover bid for Banco BPM, which slipped 0.9%.

Piazza Gae Aulenti has challenged the government's decree before the Lazio Regional Administrative Court, waiving a request for a suspension to speed up a ruling on the merits, expected on July 9.

Mediobanca announced that shareholder Aurelia Srl sold put options on 150,000 shares and simultaneously offloaded 250,000 Mediobanca shares. The stock ended 0.1% higher.

DiaSorin hit a new 52-week low at EUR88.80, closing just below flat at EUR90.28.

Banca Monte Paschi Siena was the worst performer, down 2.0%, matching the decline of Stellantis.

On the Mid-Cap, Alerion topped the list with a 7.6% gain--its second consecutive session as a segment leader--hitting a new 52-week high at EUR22.10 per share.

Ascopiave also held firm, up 0.2%, following an agreement with A2A to acquire AP Reti Gas Northl.

Carel Industries, which led the board on Thursday, fell to the bottom with a 5.6% drop.

Fincantieri closed up 0.4% after announcing the delivery of the first of two MPCS/PPA-class naval units to the Indonesian Navy.

OVS's 100% acquisition of Goldenpoint failed to spark buying, with shares slipping 1.7% to EUR3.562.

Among Small-Caps, Class Editori jumped 14% to EUR0.155 per share.

Mondo TV also rallied, up 11%. The company has requested access to a negotiated crisis resolution process to minimize creditor impact and pursue less invasive restructuring plans.

Among stocks affected by the banking M&A wave, Illimity Bank posted a 0.8% loss.

Triboo closed at the bottom, down over 10%. Since July 2, Borsa Italiana has prohibited the entry of unlimited price orders for Triboo shares.

In the SME segment, GEL remained firmly among the leaders with an 8.9% gain.

Haiki+ held the top spot with a 9.6% rise, following the announcement of its EUR22.9 million acquisition of Ecobat Resources.

Mevim, up 8.9%, announced that its shareholders approved the issuance of a convertible bond for up to EUR870,000, reserved exclusively for Tenet Securities, with a corresponding capital increase to service the conversion.

Mare Engineering Group reported the completion of the second optional tranche of its capital increase, involving the issue of 34,067 new shares for a total value of EUR153,301.50. The stock ended up 0.9%.

Eprcomunicazione dropped 5% to EUR1.33 per share.

Execus recorded Friday's worst performance, tumbling 14% to EUR0.95 per share.

In Asia, the Nikkei fell 0.6%, the Shanghai Composite edged slightly lower, and the Hang Seng lost 0.2%.

Markets were closed in New York on Friday, July 4, for Independence Day celebrations.

On the currency front, the euro was trading at USD1.1770, down from USD1.1780 at Friday's close, while the pound was at USD1.3621 from USD1.3645 on Friday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude traded at USD68.01, down from USD68.31 per barrel previously, while gold was quoted at USD3,310.91, down from USD3,332.55 an ounce on Friday.

Monday's economic calendar features a focus on UK mortgage data at 10:30 CEST.

At 10:00 CEST, a speech is expected from the Bundesbank president.

At 10:30 CEST, Eurozone investor confidence indicators will be released, followed by the euro area retail sales report at 11:00 CEST.

At Piazza Affari, CleanBnB's earnings are due.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter

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