Bearish Outlook for the Second Day of the Week

(Alliance News) - European stock markets are heading for a negative open on Tuesday, amid a progressive deterioration in risk appetite. Weighing on investor sentiment are escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and ongoing concerns about the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence on specific industry sectors.

Traders are also closely watching a series of key macroeconomic releases, including final German inflation data and the ZEW economic sentiment indices for both the Eurozone and Germany.

Thus, the Mib – after closing fractionally lower at 45,419.20 points last night – is marking a drop of 122.50 points.

Among the minor indices, the Mid-Cap closed down 0.3% at 59,241.75, the Small-Cap fell 2.1% to 35,667.87, while Italy Growth was up 0.5% at 8,727.76 points.

On other European exchanges, the CAC 40 is down 36.40 points, the FTSE 100 is losing 5.0 points, while the DAX is retreating by 82.80 points.

At Piazza Affari yesterday evening, Fincantieri – up 3.4% – received an order exceeding EUR2.00 billion from Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings for the construction of three next-generation cruise ships.

Leonardo, which signed a contract with the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Defense for the supply of four C-27J Maritime Patrol Aircraft, ended the session up 3.6%. The global Spartan fleet has surpassed 290,000 flight hours.

At the same time, the Italian company, together with Airbus, announced the start of the second phase of the European Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies project, a three-year program co-financed by the EU to promote future military helicopter capabilities.

Eni – down 0.2% at EUR18.148 per share – confirmed a new oil discovery off the coast of Angola, made in a block managed by its joint venture Azule Energy with London-based BP, describing the find as "significant" based on initial assessments.

At the bottom of the list were STM, down 2.0%, DiaSorin, down 3.0%, and Nexi, down 3.5%.

Net profits rose 14% for Italy's five largest banks: from EUR22.8 billion in 2024 to EUR26.05 billion in the most recent fiscal year.

As a result, stocks rebounded with UniCredit up 0.6%, BPM up 1.2%, BPER up 1.9%, MPS up 0.7%, while Intesa slipped 0.8%.

On the Mid-Cap, UBS maintained a 'neutral' recommendation on Interpump Group – down 4.8% – with a target price of EUR43.10, compared to a February 13 closing price of EUR41.50. The rating follows a very negative market reaction, with the stock down about 20% after results.

BFF Bank saw sales drop 12% to EUR3.838 per share, while Comer Industries led the index with a 3.9% gain and Sanlorenzo rose 4.3%, the latter buoyed by positive earnings.

PharmaNutra also performed well, closing up 3.8% at EUR65.20 per share.

On the Small-Cap, EuroGroup Laminations plummeted after the collapse of a deal announced last summer between EMS Euro Management Services, the main shareholder of EuroGroup Laminations, and Ferrum Investment, a vehicle controlled by funds managed by FountainVest. The stock dropped 59% to EUR1.455 per share.

OPS Retail – down 6.0% – announced that Filippo Ezio Fanelli resigned with immediate effect as chairman and board member for personal reasons on February 12.

Antares Vision – down 0.2% on the day – ended 2025 with an acceleration in orders but with slightly declining revenues and a downward revision of medium-term growth prospects.

In 2025, orders grew 19% year-on-year and 21% at constant exchange rates, improving from the 9% increase in the first nine months.

Met.Extra Group performed well, up 5.2% at EUR2.04 per share.

Among SMEs, KME and the holding company of Emosia Group reached an agreement for the sale to Berger International of 2.4 million Culti Milano shares in December. The new long stop date is set for March 15, 2026, extending the previous deadline. Culti Milano shares fell 0.5%.

FAE Technology, up 3.7%, secured orders worth EUR2 million for the prototyping and production of high-tech solutions for power management and conversion in complex electronic systems.

TMP Group, down 5.2%, announced that shareholders have appointed a new board of directors. The three members – Roberto Rosati, Basilio Antonino Scaturro, and independent Marco Piccolo – will serve until approval of the 2028 financial statements, with total annual compensation for the board set at EUR105,000.

Tecno performed strongly, up 20% at EUR2.94 per share.

In the US, markets were closed for President Day.

In Asia, the Nikkei lost 0.4%, while the Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng were closed for Chinese New Year.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1838 from USD1.1854 at Monday's European close, while the pound is trading at USD1.3579 from USD1.3628 on Monday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD68.06 per barrel from USD68.50 per barrel on Monday evening, while gold is valued at USD4,908.17 per ounce from USD4,985.15 per ounce last night.

On Tuesday's economic calendar, at 1000 CET, Italian trade balance data will be released, and at 1100 CET it's time for the ZEW index of German economic conditions.

US employment data will be released at 1415 CET.

Edison and Recordati are presenting results at Piazza Affari.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News Reporter

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