(Alliance News) - On Monday, 48 hours after the U.S. ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, major European stock exchanges closed higher in a record-breaking session for the Mib, which soared above 48,800 points—its highest level since 2002, when the euro was introduced.
The blue-chip index ended trading up 1.0% at 45,847.32 points. The Mid-Cap rose 0.9% to 59,488.58, the Small-Cap gained 1.1% to 37,350.27, and the Italy Growth index advanced 0.4% to 8,814.46 points.
Other markets also posted gains: the CAC 40 climbed 0.2%, the DAX 40 rose 1.3%, and the FTSE 100 added 0.5%.
Chris Beauchamp of IG noted, "Bitcoin may be near a one-month high, but gold and silver continue to steal the spotlight. Both are recovering losses suffered on December 29, thanks to a combination of geopolitical concerns over Venezuela and Greenland and a resurgence of momentum trading that has been so powerful in the last months of 2025."
The analyst also observed, "It's been a spectacular start to the year for the Dow Jones, which hit an all-time high on the second trading day of the year. The broad-based global bull market is still in full swing, as demonstrated by the highs in Germany and South Korea, but in the case of the Dow, the strength of U.S. oil companies has played a significant role."
In Milan, Banco BPM ended at the bottom of the basket with a 1.7% drop, while Montepaschi lost 1.1%. The third week of January will be key for both, with two important dates: the 20th and the 22nd. On those days, leadership renewals will begin for the two banks, both still at the center of Italian banking sector consolidation. These will not be merely formalities.
Exor, Piero Ferrari, and the Piero Ferrari Trust have renewed their shareholders' agreement on Ferrari, which rose 1.6%, confirming their strategic alignment on the Prancing Horse. The new agreement will last three years until 2029 and will be automatically renewable.
The pact secures about 32% of the capital and 48% of voting rights: Exor holds 21.2% of the capital and 32.2% of voting rights, while Piero Ferrari owns 10.6% of the capital and 16% of voting rights.
Tenaris, fresh off a EUR55 million buyback, closed up 4.6%.
Defense stocks remained in demand, with Leonardo topping the list with a 6.3% gain to EUR54.42 per share and Fincantieri rising 4.5% to EUR18.45 per share.
Brunello Cucinelli—down 1.9%—reported that Progetto Novantuno, owned by Cucinelli's co-Chief Financial Officer, sold 9,000 ordinary shares in the company at an average price of EUR98.0668, for a total value of EUR882,601.20.
On the Mid-Cap, Bernstein upgraded Pirelli—up 0.9%—to 'outperform' from 'market perform'.
Ariston, which continued its buyback plan with the purchase of 25,000 own shares, ended trading down 1.0%.
Avio led the index with a 9.0% surge to EUR32.65, in line with the positive trend for defense stocks and following Maduro's ouster in Venezuela and a general sense of geopolitical fragility.
Comer Industries, after acquiring BU Hydraulic Equipment from Nabtesco, gained 5.2% to EUR48.80 per share.
Juventus Football Club, following reduced sanctions by Consob for company members and former executives, closed down 3.4%.
Among small caps, OPS eCom announced it has sold its stakes in Giglio Shanghai Technology CO, Media 360 HK, and Salotto di Brera. The stakes were sold to Alfonso Apicella at a nominal value of EUR4,000.
The sale generated a capital loss of about EUR100,000, with the stock falling 1.7% to EUR0.118 per share.
Tessellis dropped 8.1%, ending at the bottom of the list; top performers once again included Beewize, up 5.9%, and Aeffe, up 7.3%.
Among SMEs, Circle Group secured a EUR250,000 order from a major national logistics operator for technological upgrades and automation of two lanes with Totem for remote management at a multipurpose terminal in a Mediterranean port. The stock responded positively, up 0.5%.
TraWell Co—up 2.5%—announced it has won a new concession to provide its services at Bologna Guglielmo Marconi International Airport, which slipped 1.5%.
Bologna Airport is one of the most dynamic hubs in the Italian airport system. In 2024, it saw traffic exceed 9 million passengers, confirming a structurally sustained growth trend driven by both leisure and business demand.
Farmacosmo posted solid gains of 15%, while UCapital24 also ended in double digits, up 34%.
In New York, the Dow Jones was up 1.4%, the Nasdaq gained 1.0%, and the S&P500 rose 0.8%.
On the currency front, the euro traded at USD1.1710 versus USD1.1745 at Friday's close in European equities, while the pound traded at USD1.3511 versus USD1.3491 on Friday evening.
As for commodities, Brent traded at USD61.60 per barrel, up from USD60.10 per barrel at Friday's European close, while gold stood at USD4,444.67 an ounce, up from USD4,320.12 an ounce on Friday evening.
On Tuesday's economic calendar, UK retail sales data are expected at 0101 CET and the French inflation report at 0845 CET.
Italian Services PMI data will be released at 0945 CET, followed by the German reading at 0955 CET. The Eurozone composite services index is due at 1000 CET, and the U.S. figure is scheduled for 1545 CET.
No significant announcements are expected from Borsa Italiana.
By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter
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