European Markets Mixed, Banks Lead Gains on Mib

(Alliance News) - On Friday, at the start of trading, markets showed modest growth, while in London, selling pressure dominated the session.

On the macroeconomic front, Chinese exports fell by 1.1%, weighed down by renewed tensions with the USA. In Germany, however, exports returned to growth, rising 1.4% after several months of contraction.

As for interest rates, the Federal Reserve continues to preach caution regarding further cuts, especially as the government shutdown limits the availability of economic data, making accurate assessments more difficult.

Against this backdrop, the Mib rose 0.3% to 43,174.88 points, the Mid-Cap climbed 0.4% to 56,818.51, the Small-Cap gained 0.4% to 35,656.15, and Italy Growth was slightly positive at 8,505.86 points.

Paris's CAC 40 advanced by 0.1%, Frankfurt's DAX 40 rose 0.2%, while London's FTSE 100 slipped 0.3%.

On Piazza Affari, TIM - up 0.8% - has opened talks with Nvidia for a possible partnership in Italy, as anticipated by CEO Pietro Labriola and Elio Schiavo, head of TIM Enterprise.

Unipol - up 0.1% - closed the first nine months of 2025 with reported consolidated net profit of EUR1.12 billion, up from EUR724 million in the same period of 2024. Including the contribution from banking participations, net profit rose to EUR1.24 billion compared to EUR834 million the previous year.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena reported net profit of EUR1.37 billion for the nine months, up around 18% from EUR1.57 billion in 2024, which included EUR470 million in positive taxes, compared to EUR78 million in the same period of 2025. Third-quarter profit was EUR474 million. The stock gained 4.0%.

With regards to the ongoing banking sector maneuvers, attention now shifts to governance following the Mediobanca affair, which is up 3.9%. In particular, MPS will have to address the new Generali board - up 0.3% - appointed this spring by Mediobanca.

Stellantis, which has terminated its supply contract with Alliance Nickel, the Australian company specializing in battery minerals for electric vehicles, rose 0.7%.

Among the decliners were Prysmian and Leonardo, down 0.8% and 0.5% respectively.

On the Mid-Cap, Banco di Desio e della Brianza closed the nine months with consolidated net profit of EUR105.9 million, down 9.0% from EUR116.4 million in the first nine months of 2024. Annualized return on equity improved to 10.1%, with a stable cost of risk at 22 basis points. The stock fell 3.6%.

The board of Credem - up 0.6% - approved consolidated results as of September 30, closing the first nine months with consolidated net profit of EUR506.4 million, up 4.2% from the same period in 2024, which was EUR407.7 million, excluding the benefit of EUR98.6 million from the transfer of merchant acquiring activities.

Pirelli & C. recorded growth in its main economic indicators over the first nine months, with revenues of EUR5.20 billion, up organically by 3.7% excluding exchange rate and hyperinflation effects and the deconsolidation of Däckia. The stock responded positively, up 0.2%.

Cementir Holding closed the first nine months with slightly higher revenues and growing volumes, supported in particular by performance in Turkey and Egypt, while Belgium and Denmark saw negative trends. The stock gained 2.9%.

Salvatore Ferragamo performed well, up 2.9%. Conversely, Philogen closed the basket down 2.7%.

In the Small-Cap segment, Edison - flat at EUR2.50 - completed the first ship-to-ship fuel transfer in the Adriatic Sea, delivering LNG with its own methane carrier to the French container ship CMA CGM Salamanque.

Banca Profilo - up 3.8% - closed the first nine months of 2025 with consolidated net profit of EUR9.4 million, up from EUR7.2 million in 2024, a 30% increase.

Elica Spa signed the purchase agreement for 28% of Steel Srl's share capital. The payment made by Elica to the selling shareholders at closing was equal to 50% of the total amount due, or EUR1.3 million. The remaining 50% had already been paid as a deposit upon signing the preliminary agreement, for a total of EUR2.5 million. The stock rose 0.9%.

EPH returned to double-digit growth, up 18% to EUR0.51 per share. SIT, meanwhile, fell 4.2% to EUR2.73 per share.

Among SMEs, Esautomotion, with no trades, reported nine-month revenues up 9.1% to EUR21.8 million from EUR20.0 million recorded from January to September 2024.

Fope reported product sales of EUR73.3 million in the first ten months of 2025, up 31% from October 31, 2024. The Vicenza-based company - whose stock is up 2.5% - noted that volumes remain robust, in line with the first part of the year.

The board of Almawave on Thursday approved consolidated results for the first nine months of 2025. The company closed the period with net profit of EUR100,000, sharply down from EUR2.2 million in the same period of 2024. The stock is flat at EUR4.29 per share.

By contrast, Kruso Kapital closed the first nine months with net profit of EUR6.2 million, sharply higher year-on-year from EUR2.8 million in the same period last year. The stock gained 1.8%.

Notorius Pictures saw marked selling, down 6.8%; strong buying on Emma Villas, up 5.8%.

In New York, the Dow Jones fell 0.8% to 46,912.30 points, the Nasdaq dropped 1.9% to 25,130.04, while the S&P 500 retreated 1.1% to 6,720.32 points.

In Asia, the Nikkei ended down 1.2%, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.3%, and the Hang Seng closed down 0.9%.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1535 from USD1.1539 at Thursday's equity close, while the pound is at USD1.3107 from USD1.3108 on Thursday evening.

Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD63.88 a barrel from USD64.09 at Thursday evening's close, while gold is valued at USD4,008.19 an ounce from USD3,978.00 an ounce yesterday evening.

On Friday's macroeconomic calendar, ECB's Elderson is scheduled to speak at 1430 CET.

From the USA, at 1900 CET, the Baker Hughes drilling rig count report will be released.

Among companies, results are expected from Banca Sistema, Riba Mundo Tecnología, Seco, Svas Biosana, and Tesmec.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter

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