(Alliance News) - Major European markets are trading in positive territory at Tuesday's mid-session. Although the conflict in the Middle East continues to undermine global energy certainties and has sparked regional chaos following Israeli and US strikes against Iran, markets are responding with notable momentum.
On the macroeconomic front, data published Tuesday by S&P Global showed the Eurozone private sector slowed in March, signaling that the bloc's economy "has already been hit by the effects of the war in the Middle East," according to Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The Composite PMI, a weighted average of the manufacturing and services indices, landed at 50.7, down from 51.9 in February, though revised upward from the flash estimate of 50.5.
Domestically, Italy's services sector recorded its first contraction in activity in 16 months in March, with both output and demand declining on a monthly basis.
Italy's Services PMI fell to 48.8 points in March from 52.3 in February, significantly underperforming the market consensus of 51.5 points. By dropping below the 50.0 threshold, the indicator points to a contraction in sector activity.
The MIB is trading up 1.3% at 46,207.35, the Mid-Cap is up 1.7% at 55,684.27, the Small-Cap has gained 1.4% to 33,585.56, and Italy Growth is up 0.4% at 8,419.30 points.
Other European bourses are also in the green: the CAC 40 is up 1.3%, the DAX 40 gained 0.9%, and the FTSE 100 rose 0.3%.
On Piazza Affari, Snam is up 0.8% after hitting a 52-week high. The company announced that Moody's upgraded its rating to "baa1" with a Stable outlook from "baa2" with a Positive outlook, while confirming its short-term rating at "P-2".
Avio, trading 1.8% higher, reported that the launch of the Smile satellite has been postponed due to a technical issue on the production line of a subsystem component following the integration of the VV29 flight launcher.
In Siena, ahead of the April 15 shareholders' meeting for Monte dei Paschi (up 1.2%), unprecedented developments are unfolding: CEO Luigi Lovaglio was not reappointed by the board despite the bank's successful turnaround and has subsequently run on a competing list. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank has flagged the lack of banking experience of candidate Fabrizio Palermo.
Further anomalies involve chairman candidate Nicola Maione, deemed non-independent by ISS, and the absence of representatives from lead shareholder Delfin, which may abstain from voting.
Leonardo anchors the basket with a 5.7% decline to EUR58.66 per share, followed by DiaSorin, down 0.5%. At the midday turn, the strongest gains are seen in STM, up 6.3% at EUR30.90 per share, and Inwit, which climbed 5.4% to EUR7.58 per share.
On the Mid-Cap, LU-VE is up 2.2% after announcing Tuesday that first-quarter product sales reached EUR151.0 million, a 13% increase from EUR133.5 million in the same period of 2025.
The order book as of March 31 stood at an "all-time high" of EUR300.9 million, the company noted, up 43% from EUR214.0 million in March 2025.
NewPrinces surged 13% after announcing an acceleration of its share buyback program, citing current valuation levels and the group's robust financial position.
As of March 31, the company held 1.1 million treasury shares, representing 2.6% of its share capital, and is authorized to purchase additional shares up to a maximum of 20% of the capital.
Ferretti, currently facing a KKCG takeover bid deemed inadequate, is currently at the bottom of the basket, down 3.8%.
BFF Bank is recovering ground with gains of around 20% at EUR1.727 per share.
On the Small-Cap, Ops eCom - with potential gains of 22% - announced that its subsidiary DEVA has finalized the sale of 100% of Special Courier & Logistics, a non-core asset, for a total consideration of EUR452,500.
The transaction generated a capital gain of approximately EUR122,500, representing a 37% return on book value, the company explained in a note.
KME Group Spa announced Thursday that its subsidiary KME SE has signed the definitive agreement with The Paragon Fund III GmbH & Co. geschlossene Investment KG for the buyback of the 55% stake indirectly held by the latter in Cunova GmbH.
Immobiliare Grande Distribuzione - up 0.3% - notified S&P Global Ratings of its withdrawal from the existing contract regarding the rating assigned to the company.
At the time of withdrawal, IGD's rating was BB with a positive outlook.
Fidia is down 13%, while OPS Retail leads the list with a 12% gain.
Among SMEs, the outlook for TPS Group - down 4.5% - remains positive, with a "buy" recommendation and a target price of EUR9.80 according to Integrae SIM, while Value Track indicates a fair value slightly above EUR10 per share, confirming significant upside potential from current market levels.
Cyberoo - up 13% - announced the signing of its first multi-year contracts for the Keatrix platform, marking the commercial launch of the solution introduced in late 2025.
The contracts, signed with both new and existing clients, primarily involve mid-sized organizations across various sectors, including manufacturing, agribusiness, pharmaceuticals, and services.
DigiTouch - down 1.9% - announced it has revoked EnVent Italia SIM Spa's mandate as Euronext Growth Advisor.
Integrae SIM will replace EnVent, assuming the role of EGA for the company effective May 1.
In New York, the Dow closed Monday up 0.4%, the Nasdaq gained 0.5%, and the S&P 500 finished 0.4% higher.
In the currency markets, the euro is trading at USD1.1564 from USD1.1544 on Thursday evening, while the pound is at USD1.3269 from USD1.3236 on Thursday evening.
Among commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD108.98 per barrel from USD108.10 on Thursday evening, while gold is priced at USD4,670.72 per ounce from USD4,662.50 on Thursday evening.
Tuesday's macroeconomic calendar includes the ADP weekly employment change data from the US at 1415 CEST.
The day concludes at 2230 CEST with US weekly oil inventories.
By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News reporter
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