(Alliance News) - On Thursday, the MIB lost further ground, slipping below the 43,700 mark and extending the previous session's losses.
The decline reflects escalating tensions in the Middle East, as Iranian strikes on energy infrastructure in Gulf countries - in response to Israeli action on the largest gas field - fueled concerns over potential prolonged supply disruptions.
On the macro front, the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged as expected. The Frankfurt-based institution revised its 2026 inflation forecasts upward, noting that the conflict in the Persian Gulf increases both upside risks to energy prices and downside risks to economic growth.
Consequently, the FTSE MIB closed down 2.3% at 43,701.38, the Mid-Cap ended 3.0% lower at 51,960.12, the Small-Cap finished down 2.0% at 32,093.11, while Italy Growth retreated 0.4% to 8,330.88.
London's FTSE 100 ended 2.4% in the red, Paris's CAC 40 shed 2.0%, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 closed 2.8% lower.
Back in Milan, Eni was among the few gainers on the MIB, closing up 3.8% - bolstered in part by rising crude prices - as did its subsidiary Saipem, which posted a 0.9% gain.
Telecom Italia - down 5.7% - announced on Thursday that it has signed a non-binding agreement with Fastweb and Vodafone to build and manage new mobile phone towers in Italy, with the prospect of creating up to 6,000 new sites. The joint initiative is also aimed at accelerating the national 5G roll-out.
Inwit - as a result - which counts the two companies among its main clients, plummeted nearly 16%, bringing its price to EUR6.90.
JPMorgan upgraded Buzzi - which closed 2.4% bearish - raising its recommendation to "overweight" from "neutral" and confirming a target price of EUR58.00, compared to a price of EUR43.38 as of March 18, 2026, following a period of underperformance for the stock, which has recorded a 17% decline since the start of the year.
UniCredit, meanwhile, shed 2.9%. The Gae Aulenti-based bank announced on Thursday that, together with ING, it has structured a EUR375 million mini-perm project financing for Retelit Datacenter. This concerns Retelit's data center hub, which represents Italy's leading interconnection platform with 38 data centers, including the Avalon Campus in Milan.
On the MidCap, BFF Bank gained 3.3%. Notably, Citadel Advisors raised its short position on the stock to 1.36% from 1.24%, while Two Sigma Investments increased its position to 0.90% from the previous 0.81%.
Technogym - up 2.1% - announced on Thursday that it ended 2025 with an adjusted net profit of EUR119.9 million, up 33% from EUR90.2 million in 2024. The proposed dividend is EUR0.38 per share, up from EUR0.30 the previous year. It should be noted that in 2025, the total dividend distributed was EUR0.80, but part of that - EUR0.50 - was an extraordinary component. Therefore, the proposed dividend for the 2025 financial year is up on an annual basis.
The board of directors of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore - down 0.7% - approved the accounts as of December 31, closing the year with a net profit of EUR54 million, down from EUR60.2 million in 2024. The board proposed a dividend distribution of EUR0.154 per share for a total of approximately EUR40 million, a 10% increase compared to 2024.
d'Amico International Shipping - 7.4% in the red - announced on Thursday that d'Amico International SA has completed the sale of 6.2 million shares held in d'Amico International Shipping, representing approximately 5% of its share capital, at a price of EUR6.50 per share, for a total value of EUR40.3 million.
The transaction was carried out through an accelerated bookbuilding procedure reserved for certain institutional investors.
On the Small-Cap, Italian Sea Group closed with a 27% gain. The board on Thursday approved the year-end accounts, which closed with a net profit of EUR30.4 million compared to EUR32.4 million. The board also proposed a dividend distribution of EUR0.20 per share, unchanged from last year.
Datalogic - bullish with a 15% gain - announced on Thursday that it ended 2025 with a profit of EUR7.7 million, down from EUR13.7 million in 2024. The board will also propose a dividend of EUR0.12, stable compared to the previous year. 2025 revenues amounted to EUR500.1 million, up from EUR493.8 million the year before.
Trevi Finanziaria Industriale shed 8.8% to EUR0.47 per share. The stock - which has not paid a dividend since 2015 - closed its sixth consecutive session with a bearish candle.
The board of directors of B&C Speakers - down nearly 11% - on Thursday approved the draft financial statements as of December 31, closing with a total group profit of EUR9.6 million, down from EUR18.2 million the previous year. The board will propose an ordinary dividend of EUR0.7 per share. The pay-out ratio rises to 86% of the year's profit. Last year, the dividend was EUR1.0.
Among SMEs, Esi advanced 5.8% to EUR1.28, marking its second bullish session.
Elsa Solutions gained 4.1%, following a 3.2% rise in the previous session.
Circle - down 1.0% - announced on Thursday that its subsidiary eXyond has submitted a digitalization and automation project for the gates of an intermodal hub in Northern Italy, valued at over EUR300,000.
Erredue, meanwhile, shed 3.7% after a flat session the day before, with a final price around EUR7.85 per share.
The Dow Jones is down 0.7%, the S&P is losing 0.5%, while the Nasdaq is 0.8% in the red.
On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1525 from USD1.1515 on Wednesday evening, while the pound is trading at USD1.3360 from USD1.3331 last night.
Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD110.09 per barrel from USD108.44 per barrel yesterday, while gold is worth USD4,581.27 per ounce from USD4,875.55 per ounce last night.
Regarding Friday's economic calendar, the Bank of China's prime rate decision is due at 0200 CET. At 0800 CET, Germany's producer price index will be released, while at 1000 CET, Italy's trade balance figures are expected.
From the US, the Baker Hughes report will be published at 1800 CET, while at 2130 CET - as is customary on Fridays - the COT Report will be released.
Among the earnings reports due at Piazza Affari, eyes are on DHH, DiaSorin, gAIn360, Gambero Rosso, Impianti, Interpump Group, Next Re, OPS Italia, and Telesia.
By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter
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