Europe Expected to Open Lower, Gold Slide Continues

(Alliance News) – On Monday, the main stock indices across the Old Continent are set for a lower open, as global risk sentiment deteriorates following a sharp sell-off in precious metals, which has triggered forced liquidations across other asset classes as well.

In European pre-market trading, metals continue to fall sharply, with gold down 6% and silver off by 5%, contributing to heightened volatility across markets.

The cryptocurrency market is also under heavy pressure, with Bitcoin trading around USD76,000.

On Friday, market sentiment was influenced by US President Donald Trump's decision to nominate Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, a choice widely seen as signaling a more hawkish stance on monetary policy.

Meanwhile, S&P Global Ratings confirmed Italy's rating at 'BBB+', upgrading the outlook to 'positive' from 'stable'.

In Europe, investors are cautiously awaiting monetary policy decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, both scheduled for this week, with both expected to leave interest rates unchanged.

According to ECB-Watch ahead of the upcoming ECB meeting, markets are pricing in an 89% probability that rates will be held steady, keeping the deposit rate at 2.00%.

The FTSE Mib is indicated down 0.6% or by 275.0 points after closing up 1.0% at 45,527.42 on Friday.

Across Europe, London's FTSE 100 is down 0.7% or 65.8 points, Paris' CAC 40 is indicated down 0.8% or by 68.3 points, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 is expected to fall 1.0% or by 234.5 points.

In Milan on Friday evening, the Mid-Cap gained 0.8% to 60,751.11, the Small-Cap rose 0.4% to 37,092.52, while Italy Growth slipped 0.1% to 8,772.68.

Back in Milan, on the main Piazza Affari index, Campari led the pack, closing up 3.0% with nearly 7 million shares traded, bouncing back after the previous day's losses.

Mediobanca also saw buying interest, ending the day up 2.8%.

Intesa Sanpaolo performed well, rising 2.2% ahead of its earnings release scheduled for Monday.

STMicroelectronics stood out, climbing 1.3% to EUR23.83, after Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and UBS all raised their price targets on the stock.

Stellantis advanced 2.0%, after the company announced it will present its strategic plan during the 2026 Investor Day, set for May 21 in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

The group is also accelerating automation at its North American plants. At the Sterling Heights facility near Detroit, an artificial intelligence-powered robot can complete an inventory check in about 90 minutes—a task that would take up to 280 hours of human labor. This is the Dexory V2, developed by British startup Dexory and already operational at four of the group's sites.

Recordati, down 0.3%, signed a collaboration and licensing agreement with Moderna for the development and global commercialization of mRNA-3927, an experimental drug for the treatment of propionic acidemia.

The agreement includes an up-front payment of USD50 million and up to USD110 million linked to development and regulatory milestones, as well as commercial, sales milestones, and tiered royalties. Recordati does not expect a significant impact on EBITDA before a potential product launch.

Among the decliners, Ferrari lost 0.8%, while Azimut Holding dropped 1.4%.

At the bottom of the main index was Fincantieri, down 4.0%, with its market capitalization falling below EUR5.20 billion.

On the Mid-Cap, Safilo Group ended the session with a gain of over 13%. The company announced on Thursday that the board reviewed key preliminary data for the 2025 fiscal year, which closed with sales of EUR983.4 million, up 1.8% at constant exchange rates from the previous year.

Strength was also seen in another luxury name, Salvatore Ferragamo, which finished trading up 4.6%.

Avio posted a 6.8% rise after announcing that the board had revised upward its guidance for order backlog and net revenues for 2025. Specifically, the order backlog is now expected to range between EUR2.10 billion and EUR2.20 billion, up from previous forecasts of EUR1.70 billion to EUR1.80 billion.

Webuild gained 1.6% after announcing it had won a EUR531 million contract for the construction of Lot 1 of the Strada Statale 106 Jonica, one of Calabria's most strategic arteries, covering the stretch between the Coserie viaduct and the Corigliano Ovest junction.

At the bottom of the mid-cap board, Fiera Milano closed down 1.8%, marking its third consecutive session in negative territory.

On the Small-Cap, Revo Insurance ended the session up 3.2%, with trading volumes exceeding EUR2 million.

FILÁ also saw strong trading, but closed down 1.1% on the week's final session.

At the bottom of the list were Tesmec, down 4.7%, and Beewize, falling 9.2%.

Among SMEs, Xenia Hotellerie Solution saw solid buying, rising 2.4%, after the company reported preliminary 2025 revenues of EUR72 million, up 26% from EUR57.2 million as of December 31, 2024.

Soges, up 5.6%, announced that the board had reviewed key preliminary data for the 2025 fiscal year, which ended with revenues of EUR26.4 million, up 58% from EUR16.7 million in 2024.

EBidCo, a corporate vehicle indirectly controlled by Xenon Private Equity VIII SCA SICAV-RAIF and managed by Xenon AIFM, announced it has received approval from the Presidency of the Council of Ministers for its voluntary public tender offer for Eles. The authorization was granted under Italy's "Golden Power" regulations. Eles shares closed up 0.3%.

The board of VNE, up 2.9%, approved key preliminary indicators for consolidated orders in the fourth quarter of 2025, totaling EUR3.80 million, an increase of EUR240,000 over the same period last year, representing growth of 6.7%.

Among the laggards in the alternative segment, Redelfi dropped 4.9%, with trading volumes exceeding EUR1.3 million.

In New York on Friday, the Dow Jones lost 0.4%, as did the S&P 500, while the Nasdaq closed up 0.9%.

In Asia, the Nikkei ended down 1.3%, the Shanghai Composite fell 2.5%, and the Hang Seng dropped 2.6%.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1861 from USD1.1880 at Monday's European equity close, while the pound is at USD1.3683 from USD1.3721 on Monday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD66.21 per barrel from USD69.80 per barrel on Thursday, while gold is valued at USD4,535.71 an ounce from USD5,003.26 an ounce on Monday evening.

Monday's macroeconomic calendar features manufacturing PMI readings across Europe: Spain at 0915 CET, Italy at 0945 CET, France at 0950 CET, and Germany at 0955 CET, ahead of the UK manufacturing PMI at 1030 CET.

Later, at 1100 CET in the US, the OPEC summit is scheduled. Early afternoon, at 1245 CET in the UK, a speech by BoE's Breeden is expected.

In the afternoon, at 1545 CET in the US, the manufacturing PMI will be released, at 1600 CET the ISM manufacturing index is due, and at the end of the day, at 1830 CET, a speech by FOMC member Bostic is scheduled in the US.

Among companies on Piazza Affari, earnings from Doxee are expected.

By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News reporter

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