European Markets in the Green; US Tax Bill Stalls

(Alliance News) – On Thursday, European stock exchanges are expected to open higher, according to IG futures, with Milan's Piazza Affari set to advance from Wednesday's close, though both Milan and Paris are forecast to be the weakest among the major European indices.

In the United States, the tax bill promoted by former President Trump is currently stalled in the House, blocked by internal opposition within the Republican party.

The package, already approved by the Senate, allocates USD4.5 trillion to extend tax cuts, boost military spending, and fund a deportation campaign.

However, some senators fear the measures would increase the deficit by USD3.4 trillion over ten years, while US public debt has already reached USD37 trillion, and 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 considered adversaries because of their differences.”

The FTSE Mib is set to open up 0.2%, or 72.5 points, after closing Wednesday up 0.6% at 39,785.28 points.

Elsewhere in Europe, London’s FTSE 100 is expected to rise 0.3%, or 27.4 points; Paris’ CAC 40 is seen up 0.2%, or 14.9 points; and Frankfurt’s DAX 40 is forecast to gain 0.4%, or 86.5 points.

In Milan last night, the Mid-Cap fell 0.1% to 59,911.00, the Small-Cap slipped 0.2% to 31,750.44, while the Italy Growth index rose 0.4% to 8,227.02 points.

On Piazza Affari, STMicroelectronics led the gains with a 5.3% jump to EUR26.835 per share. Notably, UBS raised its target price on the stock to EUR30.00 from EUR26.00, while ODDO BHF upgraded its recommendation to 'outperform', setting a target price of EUR32.00.

Saipem closely followed, up 3.2% to EUR2.37 per share, after LMR Partners increased its short position to 1.1% from 1.01%.

HSBC cut Moncler’s target price to EUR55 from EUR60, maintaining a 'hold' rating, but the stock still gained 4.2%.

Amplifon also advanced, up 1.8%, after signing a new EUR50 million sustainability-linked loan with 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 EUR13.976. The shares were bought at an average price of EUR13.8828, for a total value of EUR58.8 million.

Hera performed poorly, landing at the bottom of the index with a 2.7% loss after acquiring 20% of Aliplast’s share capital, thereby securing 100% 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 molecular diagnostics platform for POC.

On the Mid-Cap, Alerion outperformed all others with a 15% surge to EUR20.60, after already hitting a new annual high at EUR19.96 per share.

GVS had a notable daily performance, launching a EUR20 million buyback plan starting July 1 and climbing into the leading group with a 4.9% gain to EUR5.35 per share.

Salvatore Ferragamo closed 1.8% higher than 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 closed down 1.2%.

Banca Ifis – up 1.5% – announced the final results of its voluntary public purchase and exchange offer for all ordinary shares of illimity Bank. According to the company, acceptances total just over 84% of illimity’s share capital, equal to 70.7 million shares.

Among small caps, Softlab was the top performer, rising 9.3% to EUR1.12 per share, confirming its strong performance over the past six months, during which it gained 51%. With 37 contracts executed, more than 28,000 shares changed hands.

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

IGD hit a new annual high at EUR3.18 per share but closed down 0.5%.

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

At the top of the Italy Growth index were Farmacosmo and Frendy Energy, each up 12%.

Haiki+ lost 0.6% after acquiring Ecobat Resources for EUR22.9 million. The deal brings in around EUR100 million in revenue, to be added to the nearly EUR250 million already recorded by Haiki+.

Edil San Felice – up 4.4% – announced it had secured a EUR12 million contract in a consortium with Tubosider for the regeneration of highway safety barriers for Autostrade per l'Italia.

An agreement between Alfonsino, through its subsidiary Rushers, and Eufarma has activated a delivery service for 70 Italian pharmacies. Alfonsino’s stock is up 3.1% to EUR0.27.

The board of expert.ai – down 0.1% – announced a capital increase of up to EUR20 million via the issuance 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 fractionally lower, the Nasdaq ended up 0.9%, and the S&P 500 rose 0.5%.

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

Among currencies, the euro is trading at USD1.1796 from USD1.1767 at Wednesday’s close, while the pound is at USD1.3646 from USD1.3594 last night.

In commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD68.58 from USD667.56 per barrel at the previous close, while gold is valued at USD3,369.80 an ounce from USD3,337.91 an ounce last night.

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

At 0900 CEST, France releases annual vehicle registration figures, while at 0905 CEST, Buba’s Balz is scheduled to speak.

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

At 0945 CEST, Italy releases both its Composite PMI and services sector purchasing managers’ index.

At 1000 CEST, the Eurozone composite services index is due.

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

From 1430 CEST, attention turns to US economic indicators, including government pay, imports, unemployment, exports, and jobless claims.

From 1600 CEST, again in the US, new data will be released on manufacturing, factory orders, and durable goods.

At 1800 CEST, Italy will release car registration figures.

No significant announcements are expected from Piazza Affari on Thursday.

By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News Reporter

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