European Markets in the Green; US Tax Bill Stalls

(Alliance News) - On Thursday, European stock markets are expected to open higher, according to IG futures, with Milan's Piazza Affari set to advance from Wednesday's close but, along with Paris, forecast to be among the weakest performers across the continent.

In the US, the Trump-backed tax bill is currently stalled in the House of Representatives, hindered by opposition from within the Republican Party.

The package, already approved by the Senate, allocates USD 4.5 trillion to extend tax cuts, boost military spending, and fund a deportation campaign.

However, some senators fear the measures would increase the deficit by USD 3.4 trillion over ten years, while US public debt has already reached USD 37 trillion, and the plan would require significant cuts to healthcare.

Meanwhile, China's top diplomat has warned her EU counterpart against "conflict," after the latter urged Beijing to stop undermining European security. During a meeting with Kaja Kallas in Brussels, Wang Yi stated that China and the EU "should not be seen as adversaries because of their differences."

The FTSE Mib is indicated up 0.2% or 72.5 points after closing Wednesday with a 0.6% gain at 39,785.28 points.

Across Europe, London's FTSE 100 is expected to rise by 0.3% or 27.4 points, Paris's CAC 40 is seen up 0.2% or 14.9 points, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 is forecast to climb 0.4% or 86.5 points.

In Milan on Wednesday evening, the Mid-Cap slipped 0.1% to 59,911.00, the Small-Cap lost 0.2% to 31,750.44, while Italy Growth advanced 0.4% to 8,227.02 points.

On Piazza Affari, STMicroelectronics led the pack with a 5.3% surge to EUR 26.835 per share. Notably, UBS raised its target price on the stock to EUR 30.00 from EUR 26.00. ODDO BHF also upgraded its recommendation to 'outperform,' with the French broker setting a target price of EUR 32.00.

Saipem closely followed, rising 3.2% to EUR 2.37 per share after LMR Partners increased its short position to 1.1% from 1.01%.

HSBC cut Moncler's target price to EUR 55 from EUR 60, maintaining a 'hold' recommendation, but the stock still gained 4.2%.

Amplifon also rose, up 1.8%, after securing a new EUR 50 million sustainability-linked loan from Banca Popolare di Sondrio, intended to refinance existing credit lines.

Eni, which acquired 4.2 million of its own shares, ended the session up 1.4% at EUR 13.976. The shares were bought at an average price of EUR 13.8828, for a total outlay of EUR 58.8 million.

Hera posted a negative performance, closing near the bottom of the index with a 2.7% loss after acquiring 20% of Aliplast's share capital, thus obtaining full control.

DiaSorin, which slipped 0.4%, announced Wednesday that it had submitted a 510(k) authorization request and a CLIA Waiver application to the US Food and Drug Administration for the Liaison Nes, a next-generation point-of-care molecular diagnostics platform.

On the Mid-Cap, Alerion outperformed all others with a 15% jump to EUR 20.60, having already hit a new annual high at EUR 19.96 per share.

GVS also stood out, having launched a EUR 20 million buyback program starting July 1 and climbing to the top tier of the index with a 4.9% increase to EUR 5.35 per share.

Salvatore Ferragamo closed up 1.8% from the previous session, despite both Barclays and Bank of America cutting their target prices on the stock.

Lottomatica on Wednesday appointed CEO Guglielmo Angelozzi as its new executive chairman. The stock ended down 1.2%.

Banca Ifis, up 1.5%, announced the final results of its voluntary takeover and exchange offer for all ordinary shares of illimity Bank. According to the company, acceptances represent just over 84% of illimity's share capital, equivalent to 70.7 million shares.

Among small caps, Softlab outperformed with a 9.3% rise to EUR 1.12 per share, capping a strong six months that saw a 51% increase. With 37 contracts executed, more than 28,000 shares changed hands.

Triboo also performed well, notching its second consecutive podium finish with a 3% rise. On Monday, the company announced its subsidiary Triboo Digitale had completed the sale of its 80% stake in ESITE to Alsendo Holdings.

IGD reached a new annual high at EUR 3.18 per share but closed down 0.5%.

Class Editori, which ended up 4.1%, announced that its newly appointed board, at its first post-appointment meeting, confirmed Paolo Andrea Panerai in the dual role of vice chairman and CEO.

On the Italy Growth segment, Farmacosmo and Frendy Energy topped the list with 12% gains.

Haiki+, down 0.6%, acquired Ecobat Resources for EUR 22.9 million. The deal brings in around EUR 100 million in revenue, to be added to the nearly EUR 250 million already recorded by Haiki+.

Edil San Felice, up 4.4%, announced it had secured a EUR 12 million contract in a consortium with Tubosider for the regeneration of motorway safety barriers for Autostrade per l'Italia.

An agreement between Alfonsino, through its subsidiary Rushers, and Eufarma has launched delivery services for 70 Italian pharmacies. Alfonsino shares are up 3.1% at EUR 0.27.

The board of expert.ai, down 0.1%, announced it has decided on a capital increase of up to EUR 20 million through the issue of over 15 million new ordinary shares, excluding pre-emptive rights.

Value-Track SIM exercised the greenshoe option on Giocamondo Study, which closed up 3.3%.

In New York on Wednesday evening, the Dow closed slightly lower, the Nasdaq rose 0.9%, and the S&P 500 gained 0.5%.

In Asia, the Nikkei is down 0.2%, the Shanghai Composite is up 0.2%, and the Hang Seng is down 0.8%.

In currency markets, the euro is trading at USD 1.1796 from USD 1.1767 at Wednesday's close, while the pound is at USD 1.3646 from USD 1.3594 last night.

In commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD 68.58 from USD 667.56 a barrel at the previous close, while gold is at USD 3,369.80 per ounce from USD 3,337.91 per ounce last night.

On Thursday's economic calendar, US markets will close at 1300 CEST for Independence Day celebrations.

At 0900 CEST, French annual car registration data will be released, followed at 0905 CEST by a speech from Balz, a member of Germany's Bundesbank.

Focus will be on Spain's services PMI at 0915 CEST.

At 0945 CEST, Italy's Composite PMI and services PMI data will be published.

At 1000 CEST, the Eurozone services composite index will be released.

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

From 1430 CEST, attention will turn to US economic indicators, including government payrolls, imports, unemployment, exports, and jobless claims.

From 1600 CEST, US data on manufacturing indices, factory orders, and durable goods will be in focus.

At 1800 CEST in Italy, car registration figures will be released.

No major announcements are expected from Piazza Affari on Thursday.

By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News Reporter

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