European markets set for lower open; focus on flash PMIs

(Alliance News) - Major European equity indices are expected to open in negative territory on Thursday.

Wall Street reached new record highs, but other global markets are trading with caution amid a geopolitical stalemate and anticipation of flash PMI data.

The ceasefire between the US and Iran, although extended, coexists with the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, creating a fragile balance between inflationary risks and hopes for de-escalation. Investors remain risk-oriented, while currencies and other assets trade within ranges in the absence of new macro catalysts.

Consequently, the FTSE MIB is called down 0.4% or 180.0 points after closing Wednesday down 0.3% at 47,785.46 points.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 is forecast to open 0.5% lower, Paris's CAC 40 is indicated down 0.1%, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 is expected to drop 0.9%.

In Milan yesterday evening, the Mid-Cap fell 0.6% to 58,055.21, the Small-Cap closed up 0.1% at 35,621.96, and Italy Growth ended 0.8% higher at 8,841.81.

On Piazza Affari, selling pressure hit Avio, which shed 5.2%, following a 0.1% decline the previous day, settling at EUR34.96 at the close.

Moncler closed down 2.7% at EUR56.00 per share. RBC confirmed a "sector perform" rating on the stock with an unchanged price target of EUR59, considering the shares fairly valued at current levels despite an upward revision of estimates following Q1 2026 results. In the report by Piral Dadhania, Nikolaos Lafioniatis, and Richard Chamberlain, analysts highlighted that Moncler recorded a solid first quarter, with revenues of EUR881 million, up 12% at constant exchange rates and 5% above expectations. Growth was driven by Asia and the Moncler Grenoble line, while Stone Island confirmed good momentum.

Fincantieri - down 1.6% - announced the signing of a contract integration for the PPA (Multipurpose Combat Ship) program, aimed at upgrading PPA class units to the Full Combat System configuration. The agreement was signed by the director of OCCAR-EA and Fulvio Palermo, Head of Project Management at Fincantieri's Naval Vessels Division, representing the temporary joint venture between Fincantieri and Leonardo.

Stellantis lost 1.1% to EUR7.30 per share. JPMorgan confirmed an "overweight" rating on the stock with a target price of EUR10.00, compared to a market price of EUR7.39 as of April 21, ahead of Q1 results expected on April 30. Analyst Jose M Asumendi noted that the group is approaching its earnings release with estimated revenues of EUR37.5 billion and a group margin around 2%, supported primarily by North America, where profitability is seen at 3%.

Eni showed strength, closing higher in tandem with rising crude prices. The stock ended the session with a 2.4% bullish candle at EUR22.94 per share.

Saipem - leading the gainers with a 6.5% rise - announced it has been awarded a new Limited Notice to Proceed, valued at approximately USD150 million, by ExxonMobil Guyana Limited for the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation of the subsea system of structures, umbilicals, risers, and flowlines for the Longtail project, located in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana, at a depth of approximately 1,750 meters.

On the mid-cap segment, d'Amico fell 3.8%, marking a bearish candle after three bullish sessions, with a final price of EUR7.48 per share.

Caltagirone gained 5.1%, extending Tuesday's modest 0.2% gain.

Comer Industries finished 5.6% higher, rebounding after a minor bearish trend to take the top spot in the segment.

MARR rose 1.8% after two bearish sessions, fixing its price at EUR8.60 at the closing bell.

Acea - up 1.3% - announced on Monday that it had finalized, through its subsidiary a.Quantum, the acquisition of Aquanexa from Algebris Investments. As the company noted, the economic value of the transaction in terms of Enterprise Value for 100% of Aquanexa is approximately EUR205 million.

On the Small-Cap index, Seri Industrial gained over 11% following a 4.1% contraction the previous day, ahead of its quarterly results release.

Aedes also performed well, rising 6.6% after a 4.3% loss on Tuesday evening.

Safilo - up 0.3% - announced the signing of an exclusive agreement with Bollé Brands for the acquisition of SPY+ and Serengeti, two US brands active in the outdoor sports and high-end eyewear segments.

The Italian Sea Group, however, shed over 13% with more than 1.9 million shares traded - the third most active on the list - following a 4.9% loss the previous day, closing at EUR1.72.

Among SMEs, Alfonsino gained 8.8% to EUR0.18, after a 2.3% drop in the previous session. The stock - on the MarketScreener platform based on a single analyst - is priced with a target of EUR0.47.

Racing Force - up 5.1% - reported that Q1 2026 revenues reached EUR24.3 million, an 18% increase compared to EUR20.6 million in Q1 2025, with growth at constant exchange rates of approximately 22%. On a broader basis, the quarterly growth brings sales for the last nine months up 20% compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year.

Otofarma - up 2.5% - announced it has signed the final purchase agreement for the acquisition of a new production plant in Corsico, in the Milan metropolitan area, completing the closing of the transaction previously announced. The total investment of EUR1.5 million will double the company's production capacity, further strengthening Otofarma's position among the main players in hearing aid production in Italy, the company explained in a note.

ErreDue - down 0.2% - announced the signing of an order worth approximately EUR900,000 for the supply of a hydrogen production solution using alkaline technology with a total capacity of approximately 0.5 MW, consisting of two modular units of approximately 250 kW. The contract, signed with a leading international industrial group in the production of steel materials for the construction sector, stipulates that the production system will be used in a plant located in Africa, specifically in Uganda.

In New York on Wednesday evening, the Dow gained 0.7%, the Nasdaq advanced 1.6%, while the S&P 500 rose 1.1%.

In Asia, the Nikkei is down 0.7%, the Hang Seng is retreating 0.9%, while the Shanghai Composite is down 0.4%.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1705 from USD1.1718 on Wednesday evening, while the pound is trading at USD1.3490 from USD1.3504 yesterday evening.

Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD102.89 per barrel from USD101.31 on Wednesday evening, while gold is valued at USD4,715.99 per ounce from USD4,732.59 yesterday evening.

On Thursday's economic calendar, starting from 0915 CEST at 15-minute intervals, manufacturing and services PMIs for France, Germany, the Eurozone, and the UK will be released.

At 1430 CEST, US jobless claims will be released, while manufacturing and services PMIs are scheduled for publication at 1545 CEST.

In the evening, at 2230 CEST, the Federal Reserve's weekly balance sheet will be published.

By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News reporter

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