(Alliance News) - European stock markets closed mixed on Thursday amid a generally chaotic geopolitical and domestic political climate.
Inflation data rewarded Germany, while industrial production struggled in Italy: in May, Italian output suffered an unexpected setback, with an estimated decline of 0.7% compared to April, well above the 0.2% decline expected by analysts and the 0.9% increase in April compared to March.
In addition, US tariffs are a threat to global economies, with China calling the 50% tariff on copper imposed by Trump on August 1 "arbitrary" and reiterating that it "does not benefit either side."
Furthermore, according to ING analysts, the strong euro acts as an additional tariff in a context of trade tensions and risks further "underweighting" inflation. As a result, the likelihood that the European Central Bank will soon have to continue with rate cuts is high.
The FTSE Mib closed Thursday down 0.7% at 40,528.17 points, the Mid-Cap ended up 0.4% at 55,520.50, the Small-Cap lost 0.3% to 32,332.74, and the Italy Growth fell 0.4% to 8,256.28 points.
Among other markets, the CAC 40 in Paris closed up 0.2%, the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended down 0.4%, and the FTSE 100 in London set new records, rising 1.2%.
Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG, commented: "The 9,000-point level is firmly in sight for the FTSE 100, which continues to enjoy a solid performance. The latest rise in commodity prices has been the driving force, but the growing wave of global stock markets has inevitably meant that flows have continued to support the FTSE 100, despite it being one of the worst-performing stocks in recent years."
"Of course, the trade agreement between the UK and the US means that a tariff letter is not expected, but if Trump decides to maintain tariffs on August 1, the FTSE 100 would not be immune," the analyst concluded.
On the Milan Stock Exchange, among the blue chips, STMicroelectronics closed at the top of the list, up 4.3% at EUR28.275, having bought back shares worth over EUR5 million in recent days.
Campari showed a 3.2% increase, continuing the positive and bullish trend of recent sessions.
Stellantis also performed well, up 3.4% to EUR9.005 per share.
Terna, which signed a three-year memorandum of understanding with Ukrainian operator NPC Ukrenergo, closed down 0.8% at EUR8.3960 per share. In addition, the company announced that BEI, SACE, and Intesa will finance the Adriatic Link with EUR 1.5 billion: the new submarine power cable will connect Marche and Abruzzo. Intesa Sanpaolo closed down 0.9%.
Also on the utilities front, Snam signed a memorandum with GTSOU to consolidate synergies between the Ukrainian and Italian gas markets, with the aim of strengthening energy security, regional integration, and sustainability in the long term. The stock fell 0.7%.
Leonardo, ENAV, and the Ukrainian State Air Traffic Services Enterprise have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the aim of supporting the restoration and upgrading of civil air navigation infrastructure in Ukraine. Leonardo shares fell 0.7%, while ENAV shares rose 0.5%.
Plenitude, a subsidiary of Eni, announced on Thursday the start of work on the creation of an energy community in collaboration with Nuova Simplast. The stock closed up 0.2%.
TIM - down 2.2% - boosted its liquidity to support new strategies and strengthen its ties with Poste Italiane, now its largest shareholder with a 24.8% stake. Poste Italiane shares ended the session down 0.7%.
On the banking front, yesterday's informal intervention by the European Commission on UniCredit boosted the stock, which closed at the top, but today it paid the price for profit-taking, falling 2.9%.
On the Mid-Cap index, LU-VE led the basket with a positive balance of 6.4% at EUR32.60 per share: according to the figures released, product sales in the second quarter reached EUR157.1 million, up 3.7% compared to the same period in 2024.
NewPrinces also performed well, up 5.8%, after signing a binding agreement with Heinz Italia to acquire 100% of its Italian baby and specialty food business.
Pier Silvio Berlusconi has opened up all possibilities regarding the Prosiebensat dossier, including a possible agreement with Czech rival PPF, but only after the conclusion of the takeover bids and on condition that it shares the pan-European project of MFE A, up 0.8%, and MF B, up 0.3%.
GVS closed the day down 2.8% at EUR5.28 per share.
Among small caps, the best performance was by I Grandi Viaggi, up 6.9%.
Tessellis, which closed down 2.9%, hit a new 52-week low of EUR0.1004.
Softlab, yesterday's top performer, hit a new 52-week high of EUR1.45 but closed down 3.1%.
Fidia announced the appointment of Luca Carante, former Chief Financial Officer, as investor relations manager, effective July 9. The stock ended trading down 1.2%.
Seco fell 4.3% after the official launch of the "SECO Application Hub," a new application marketplace designed to radically simplify the development and implementation of artificial intelligence on edge devices.
On the Italian Growth index, Deodato.Gallery gained momentum, rising 5.2% to EUR0.366 per share.
4AIM Sicaf performed well, rising 7.6% to EUR57.00 per share.
Bellini Nautica, which has expanded its dealer network in Switzerland and Slovenia, gained 2.1%.
Ilpra has launched a new buyback plan for a maximum of EUR1.5 million. To date, the company holds 215,400 ordinary treasury shares, equal to 1.8% of the share capital. The stock closed flat at EUR5.15 per share.
Gambero Rosso closed up 4.9% at EUR0.246 per share.
Innovatec ended trading up 11%, marking its sixth consecutive session in positive territory and with double-digit gains. On Wednesday, the company announced that its subsidiary Innovatec Energy had signed a turnkey EPC contract worth approximately EUR 4.1 million with Elios Sei. Borsa Italiana announced that, from July 10 until further notice, it will not be possible to place orders without a price limit on Innovatec ordinary shares.
In the US, at mid-session, the Dow Jones was up 0.4%, the Nasdaq was down 0.3% and the S&P 500 was up 0.1%.
On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD 1.1682 from USD 1.1708 at Wednesday's close, while the pound is trading at USD 1.3556 from USD 1.3586 on Wednesday evening.
Among commodities, Brent crude traded at USD 68.97 per barrel, down from USD 70.10 at the previous close, while gold was worth USD 3,320.13 per ounce, up from USD 3,311.04 last night.
In Friday's economic calendar, at 0800 CEST, the report on production in the textile, construction, and industrial sectors and the measurement of Gross Domestic Product in the UK are scheduled.
At the same time, focus will be on wholesale prices in Germany, followed by French wholesale prices at 0845 CEST.
At 10:00 CEST, the International Energy Agency's monthly report on the US oil market is expected.
The auctions of three-, seven- and 15-year BTPs in Italy will be held at 1110 CEST.
No significant announcements are expected from companies listed on the Italian stock exchange.
By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter
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