(Alliance News) - European stock markets are set for a moderately positive start to Tuesday's trading session, with investors appearing to downplay the impact of the latest escalation in the trade war.
US President Donald Trump recently threatened to double tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to 50%, a move that triggered an immediate warning from the EU about possible retaliatory measures.
Meanwhile, market attention is focused on Eurozone inflation data due out in the coming hours. The consensus among economists is for a further slowdown in price growth, potentially in line with the ECB's 2% target.
A cooling of consumer prices would strengthen expectations for a possible 25 basis point interest rate cut at the next meeting, helping to reignite the debate on the remaining scope for further accommodative stimulus in the current environment.
Thus, the FTSE Mib - after closing down 0.3% at 39,984.15 - is expected to rise by 127.00 points.
The FTSE 100 in London is up 6.30 points, the CAC 40 in Paris is up 15.60 points, and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt is expected to rise 81.30 points.
Among the smaller indices, the Mid-Cap lost 0.4% to 54,290.51 yesterday evening, the Small-Cap fell 0.7% to 31,571.89, while the Italy Growth advanced 0.1% to 8,121.07.
Returning to Milan, on the Mib yesterday evening, OPEC+'s decision to increase production, accompanied by a rally in oil prices, supported the oil sector, with Tenaris leading the gains, closing up 5.0%.
There were also gains for Eni, up 1.5%, and Saipem, which gained 2.3%.
Italgas performed well, rising 2.9% to EUR6.985 per share, with over 7 million shares traded. Barclays cut its target price for the stock from EUR7.20 to EUR7.00.
Terna, Hera, and A2A were also in positive territory, up 0.9%, 0.8%, and 0.2%, respectively.
Snam gained 0.9% after announcing on Monday the signing of an agreement with the European Commission for EUR 24 million in co-financing under the Connecting Europe Facility program, aimed at supporting strategic projects for EU energy infrastructure.
During the session, the stock hit a new annual high of EUR5.308 per share.
Among the declines, Leonardo closed down 1.0% at EUR53.66, after updating its 52-week high to EUR56.18 during the day.
At the bottom of the main index were Iveco Group, down 3.9%, and Stellantis, down 5.0%, penalized by Trump's threats to double tariffs on steel.
On the Mid-Cap, Alerion Clean Power shone with a double-digit rise, closing up 14% and achieving its fifth consecutive session in positive territory.
Juventus Football Club also performed well, rising 6.4% after announcing the appointment of Damien Comolli as the company's new general manager.
MFE-MediaForEurope gained 1.1% to EUR3.274 with Class A shares and 0.9% to EUR4.274 with Class B shares.
As highlighted in the weekly analysis by Evaluation.it signed by Claudio Guerrini, the MFE stock "shows a risk level in line with the market average - with a beta of 0.97 - reflecting, on the one hand, the dependence of revenues on the economic cycle, specifically advertising investments, and, on the other hand, the geographical diversification of its activities."
Danieli & C was down 1.5%. On Friday, the company announced that it had confirmed its presence in Japan with the sale of a new 320-ton steel mill to JFE Steel and the modernization of a bar mill plant for Godo Steel.
At the bottom of the second tier, Industrie de Nora closed down 5.3%.
On the Small-Cap market, Avio closed up 1.4%, with trading volumes close to EUR 4 million.
Among the stocks in decline, Esprinet fell 2.5% to EUR3.855, after hitting a new annual low of EUR3.84 per share.
Digital Value closed down 2.8%, with trades worth over EUR 3 million. Meanwhile, Voleon Capital Management increased its short position on the stock, rising to 1.51% from 1.31% previously.
Among SMEs, Cloudia Research attracted considerable market interest, rising 2.8% and recording the highest trading value of the session. The stock had risen for two consecutive sessions.
TradeLab rallied, gaining almost 40% to close at EUR4.81 per share and hitting a new high. The business analytics and consulting company, listed on Euronext Growth Milan since last Thursday, has more than doubled its initial capitalization.
E-Globe, up 0.7%, announced that it closed 2024 with sales revenues of EUR 26.8 million, of which EUR 4.1 million attributable to its subsidiary Climamarket Europe.
Sia announced that Mare Engineering Group has completed the acquisition of approximately 71% of the company's share capital from CSE Holding, Aspasia, and GLSR, holding companies owned by long-standing shareholders Maurizio Ciardi, Mario Rampini, and Riccardo Sacconi.
Sia gained 1.3%, while Mare Group closed up 0.5%.
Xenia Hotellerie Solution rose 2.7% after announcing the signing of a preliminary agreement for the acquisition of the four-star Hotel Palio in Asti for EUR 2.4 million.
On the downside, Vantea SMART fell 0.4%. The board approved the 2024 financial statements, which closed with a net group profit of EUR 500,000, down from EUR 590,000 in the previous year.
It was a negative session for Clabo, which lost 6.6% after announcing that the board had met over the weekend to approve the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2024, which closed with a net loss of EUR 4.1 million compared to a profit of EUR 1.2 million in the previous year.
In New York, the Dow closed just above par, the Nasdaq advanced 0.7%, while the S&P 500 closed up 0.4%.
In Asia, the Hang Seng is up 1.4%, the Shanghai Composite is up 0.4%, while the Nikkei is set to close up 0.1%.
Among currencies, the euro is trading at USD 1.1424 from USD 1.1423 last night, while the pound is trading at USD 1.3526 from USD 1.3548 last night.
Among commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD 64.72 per barrel from USD 64.90 per barrel last night, while gold is worth USD 3,364.16 per ounce from USD 3,398.70 per ounce last night.
The macroeconomic calendar for Tuesday includes the release of unemployment figures for Italy at 1000 CEST.
At 11:00 CEST, two updates for the eurozone will be released: the consumer price index and the unemployment rate.
In the afternoon, at 4:00 p.m. CEST, data on factory orders and new JOLTS jobs will be released in the US.
At 6:00 p.m. CEST, it will be the turn of car registrations in Italy.
The day will end at 10:30 p.m. CEST with the publication of weekly oil inventories from the US.
Among companies listed on the Italian stock exchange, Reway Group is expected to report its quarterly results.
By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter
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