(Alliance News) - On Thursday, European markets opened in positive territory, with Milan's FTSE Mib hovering around 44,800 points, recouping part of the losses from the previous three sessions, which all closed lower.
Investor sentiment improved after US President Donald Trump, speaking from the Davos economic forum, abandoned plans to impose tariffs on several European countries and ruled out the use of military force to acquire Greenland.
On Wednesday evening, Trump also announced a framework agreement on Greenland aimed at easing tensions after talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
"Although further talks will be held on the details of this agreement, such details are of little importance to financial markets," explained Michael Brown, Senior Research Strategist at Pepperstone.
"The crux of the matter is that, undeniably, geopolitical risk has been significantly reduced thanks to this news."
On the commodities front, gold—after hitting a new all-time high—pulled back slightly, trading around USD4,830 an ounce, while Brent crude slipped to around USD65 a barrel.
Thus, the FTSE Mib is up 0.8% at 47,705.05, the Mid-Cap gains 1.4% to 61,219.43, the Small-Cap rises 1.5% to 37,783.56, and the Italy Growth index advances 0.3% to 8,760.37.
London's FTSE 100 is up 0.8%, while Paris' CAC 40 and Frankfurt's DAX 40 both gain 1.3%.
Back in Milan, on the main blue-chip board, Banca Mediolanum leads at the open, rising 2.4% with nearly 100,000 shares already traded.
Telecom Italia sees strong buying, up 2.2%, as does STMicroelectronics, up 2.1%.
Brunello Cucinelli also attracts buyers, up 1.4%.
Poste Italiane shows strength, rounding out the opening podium with a 1.9% gain.
Speculation about a possible rapprochement between UniCredit and Monte dei Paschi di Siena was cooled by chairman Pier Carlo Padoan, who warned against "rekindling old flames" and dismissed the idea of a deal with the Sienese bank.
Meanwhile, MPS is holding a board meeting today to finalize the outgoing board's slate regulations, to be submitted to the European Central Bank ahead of the extraordinary shareholders' meeting on February 4.
Shares in Piazza Gae Aulenti are up 1.3%, while MPS gains 1.0%.
Just days after receiving European Central Bank approval, Credit Agricole has crossed the 20% threshold in Banco BPM, increasing its stake to 20.104% from 19.804% via the conversion of financial instruments, according to filings with Consob.
The ECB's green light theoretically allows an increase up to 24.9%, extendable to 29.9% under the new TUF, provided the French bank does not assume governance of the Piazza Meda lender, thus preserving the Italian bank's autonomy. Banco BPM is up 0.9%.
New financing deals for Intesa Sanpaolo in the UK, where the Imi Cib division led by Mauro Micillo granted a EUR290 million loan to National Grid and a EUR170 million loan to National Gas, both with five-year terms and the option to extend for up to two years.
Intesa is fractionally in the red.
Hera—up 0.5%—announced Wednesday that the board had reviewed 2025 preliminary results, with EBITDA above EUR1.53 billion and net profit over EUR460 million, and approved the 2029 business plan, which foresees EUR5.5 billion in investments.
UK Defence Minister John Healey will announce a GBP453 million investment to equip Typhoon fighter jets with new radar systems, safeguarding up to 1,300 jobs, with the contract awarded to a consortium led by BAE Systems, Leonardo UK, and Parker Meggitt. Leonardo slips 2.0%.
Among the main index's decliners, Fincantieri falls 2.9%, taking the bottom spot after closing down 3.8% on Wednesday.
On the Mid-Cap, Danieli & C and Technogym lead gains, up 3.1% and 2.5%, respectively.
Salvatore Ferragamo performs well, rising 2.3%.
Alerion Clean Power—up 0.6%—announced that the Central Bank of Ireland has approved the prospectus for the public offering of bonds arising from the "Alerion Clean Power Spa Up to Euro 300,000,000 Senior Unsecured Fixed Rate Notes due 2032" bond issue.
PharmaNutra advances 0.6% to EUR66.80. On Wednesday, the stock hit a new 52-week high at EUR8.10 per share.
Anima Holding slips 0.1% with just over 80,000 shares traded.
At the bottom of the mid-cap board, Avio trades in negative territory at EUR37.70 per share. Intesa Sanpaolo maintains coverage on the stock with a 'buy' recommendation and a target price of EUR49.50.
On the Small-Cap, Seco outperforms at the open, up 4.8%, following gains from the previous day. The stock has gained 24% over the past six months.
On the other side of the board, OPS Italia drops 2.6% after two consecutive sessions of gains.
FILA posts the highest trading value on the index, rising 3.0%.
Borgosesia—flat at EUR0.55 per share—has announced the opening of the second tranche of its 2030 bond for up to EUR25 million, aimed at retail and professional investors, with a 60-month term, a fixed rate of 6.30%, quarterly coupons, and a minimum subscription of EUR100,000.
Among SMEs, eVISO starts well—up 1.9%—after announcing that in January, matched gas volumes reached 222 GWh, equal to 20.7 million smc, according to Integrated Information System data.
This result represents a 22% increase compared to the 182 GWh recorded in September 2025, equivalent to an average monthly growth of about 10 GWh. Year-on-year, matched volumes are up 80% from the 123.5 GWh reported in January 2025.
Siav shows strength, advancing 11% to EUR3.20 per share.
Among the stocks with the highest trading value, Casta Diva Group gains 1.6% at the open, while expert.ai advances 0.3%.
Lemon Sistemi—not yet traded—provided an update on the binding and irrevocable expression of interest for the sale to E2E Company Energy Spa of a stake of about 25% of the company's share capital.
iVision Tech shares are suspended after a theoretical 28% surge. Borsa Italiana announced Wednesday that, until further notice, no orders without price limits will be allowed on the company's ordinary shares.
At the bottom of the alternative index, Gambero Rosso drops 6.0%.
In New York on Wednesday, the Dow Jones gained 1.2%, as did the Nasdaq and the S&P 500.
In Asia, the Nikkei closed up 1.7%, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.1%, and the Hang Seng advanced 0.2%.
On the currency front, the euro trades at USD1.1686 from USD1.1697 at Wednesday's European equity close, while the pound changes hands at USD1.3413 from USD1.3421 on Wednesday evening.
In commodities, Brent trades at USD65.04 a barrel from USD64.90 per barrel on Wednesday, while gold is worth USD4,826.87 an ounce from USD4,837.81 an ounce last night.
On Thursday's economic calendar, at 1200 CET the German Buba monthly report is due, while at 1430 CET US GDP data will be released, followed by unemployment figures.
The Fed's balance sheet is expected at 2230 CET.
At Piazza Affari, Grifal's results are awaited.
By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News reporter
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