(Alliance News) - On Monday, European stock markets opened with mixed performances, as Milan's Piazza Affari defied futures predictions and returned to the 44,900-point area, buoyed by banking stocks. Meanwhile, Paris remains the worst performer among the major European markets, weighed down by domestic political tensions.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 100% tariffs on Canada should Ottawa reach an agreement with China, a scenario Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has ruled out for now.
On Monday, Beijing also weighed in, stating that its preliminary trade agreement with Canada "does not target any third party."
On the geopolitical front, the deployment of a US aircraft carrier fleet to the Middle East has reignited fears of a potential escalation in tensions with Iran.
In commodities, gold continues its upward movement after surpassing the USD5,000-per-ounce mark, rising about 2% to around USD5,100, while silver has gained 8%.
Investor focus now turns to Wednesday's Federal Reserve meeting and US monetary policy decisions.
The CME Group's FedWatch Tool, which is based on federal funds futures also anchored to the effective EFFR rate, signals a 97% probability that rates will be maintained in the 350-375 basis points range at the January 28 meeting.
Meanwhile, media reports have begun circulating the name of BlackRock Inc's Rick Rieder as a possible frontrunner to head the Federal Reserve in the future.
As a result, the FTSE Mib is up 0.3% at 44,964.86, the Mid-Cap is down 0.4% at 60,932.46, the Small-Cap slips 0.4% to 37,536.82, while Italy Growth is up 0.2% at 8,830.11.
London's FTSE 100 is fractionally in the green, Paris's CAC 40 is down 0.2%, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 is slightly lower.
Back in Milan, on the main list of Piazza Affari, Banco BPM leads at the open, rising 1.7% with over 700,000 shares already traded.
Ferrari also sees buying interest, up 1.1%, rebounding after Friday's decline.
Telecom Italia advances 0.8% to EUR0.5736 per share after Barclays raised its target price to EUR0.65 from EUR0.60, confirming its overweight rating.
The spotlight returns to the Monte dei Paschi dossier and its potential integration with Mediobanca, as the renewal of Monte's board of directors approaches on April 15. Central to the debate is the possible reappointment of CEO Luigi Lovaglio, with divergent views among major shareholders: the Caltagirone group on one side, and Delfin together with the Treasury on the other.
MPS rises 0.3%, while Mediobanca gains 1.2%.
Intesa Sanpaolo, up 0.7%, will focus on international expansion in the business plan that Carlo Messina will present on February 2. Growth will be driven mainly by foreign banks and IMI CIBC, while the Italian market will continue to be served by the Banca dei Territori and other domestic activities. The strategy favors organic growth, avoiding consolidation moves to sidestep antitrust constraints in an already saturated national market.
Hera's 2025-2029 business plan, with shares down 0.4%, is based on sustainability, circularity, and value creation for local areas, with investments exceeding EUR5.5 billion, up 40%, aimed at strengthening infrastructure and supporting the energy transition.
Nexi, up 0.1%, announced that the board of directors has approved the appointment of Piergiorgio Pedron as the group's new Chief Financial Officer, effective April 1, 2026.
Stellantis remains under pressure, down 1.1%, as its goal to return production in Italy to one million vehicles by 2030 appears increasingly out of reach. In 2025, volumes fell to 379,706 units, with the decline mainly in cars and levels now below those of Slovakia, France, the Czech Republic, and Spain.
Among decliners, STMicroelectronics is down 1.4% and DiaSorin drops 1.9%.
At the bottom of the FTSE Mib is Fincantieri, down 2.4% at the open, with over 600,000 shares already traded.
On the Mid-Cap, LU-VE and Brembo lead the gains, up 2.2% and 1.5% respectively. RCS Mediagroup also performs well, advancing 1.1%.
Among stocks with the highest trading volumes at the open, MAIRE slips 0.3% while Banca Generali retreats 0.2%.
Sesa — down 0.4% — announced Monday it has signed a binding agreement to acquire the remaining 7.1% of Base Digitale Group from managing partners Marco and Leonardo Bassilichi, thus reaching 100% ownership.
At the bottom of the mid-cap list is Avio, down 1.7%, marking its fifth consecutive session of losses.
On the Small-Cap segment, Aeffe stands out as the best performer at the open, rising 6.9% and pushing its market capitalization above EUR31 million.
On the other side of the list, Class Editori falls 4.7% in early trading.
FILA, up 1.0%, resumes growth and acquisition activity, nearing EUR700 million in revenue. The company marks a strategic shift with the hiring of Fabrizio Pandini as in-house creative director for Seven-Invicta, strengthening its focus on product and positioning after acquiring Seven for EUR53.7 million.
Trevifin sees a 2.6% decline. The company announced the resignation of Antonio Maria Rinaldi from his roles as chairman and board member.
Among SMEs, iVision Tech's rally continues, up 12% after gaining over 60% last week.
Smart Capital, which saw no trades on the professional segment, announced through its subsidiary Smart4Tech that, together with CrowdFundMe, up 5.4%, and WeAreStarting, it has signed an agreement for the merger of Smart4Tech and WeAreStarting into CrowdFundMe. The deal aims to create an integrated listed group dedicated to alternative finance and advisory services for Italian SMEs.
Marzocchi Pompe released some preliminary consolidated data for fiscal 2025, showing net revenues of EUR37.1 million, down 7.2% from 2024. The stock slips 0.9% at the open.
TraWell Co remains unchanged at EUR6.00 after clarifying in a statement that articles published in Corriere della Sera and Il Giornale on January 20 and 21 contain information deemed incorrect regarding a supposed EU ban on protective luggage film. The company clarified that neither EU Regulation 2025/40 nor Directive 2019/904, implemented in Italy by Legislative Decree 196/2021, provide for any ban on baggage protection services at airports.
Siav's stock is suspended after a theoretical 15% drop to EUR3.44.
In New York on Friday, the Dow Jones lost 0.6%, the S&P 500 closed fractionally higher, while the Nasdaq advanced 0.3%.
In Asia, the Nikkei closed down 1.8%, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.1%, while the Hang Seng rose 0.1%.
On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1847 from USD1.1758 at Friday's European close, while the pound is trading at USD1.3657 from USD1.3573 Friday evening.
Among commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD65.10 per barrel from USD65.76 per barrel on Friday, while gold is valued at USD5,091.59 per ounce from USD4,985.35 per ounce Friday evening.
On Monday's economic calendar, Bundesbank President Nagel is scheduled to speak at 1330 CET.
At 1330 CET, US durable goods orders will be released, while between 1630 CET and 1800 CET, a Treasury bond auction is scheduled.
Among Piazza Affari-listed companies, results are expected from RedFish LongTerm Capital.
By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to redazione@alliancenews.com
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