(Alliance News) - On Wednesday, European markets mostly bounced back into positive territory, with the exception of the Mib and the FTSE 100, which struggled but still managed to significantly trim their losses from the previous day.
On the geopolitical front, glimmers of hope for peace between Russia and Ukraine have emerged, with reports of a new plan launched by the Trump administration to halt the conflict, now approaching its fourth year. In Europe, annual inflation stood at 2.1% in October, down from 2.2% in September.
The Mib fell 0.4% to 42,651.49 points, the Mid-Cap rose 0.8% to 57,119.05, the Small-Cap closed flat at 34,757.41, and Italy Growth edged up 0.1% to 8,347.53.
The CAC 40 advanced 0.1%, matching the DAX 40 in Frankfurt, while London's FTSE 100 shed 0.5%.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, noted, "Given the amount of doom-laden media coverage around the drop in stocks over the past week or so, you'd think we were witnessing a repeat of the tariff panic from April."
"In reality," the analyst emphasized, "global indices have long anticipated some sort of sell-off, simply to reset sentiment and allow for some prudent profit-taking. Many seem to expect this will morph into the long-awaited sell-off that will burst the artificial intelligence bubble, but such predictions seem far-fetched."
On the Milan exchange, Credit Agricole--which currently holds 20% of shares--said it is open to considering a merger with Banco BPM, which slipped 0.3%. The French bank is awaiting moves from Piazza Meda, while remaining a "patient" and long-term shareholder.
DiaSorin, up 1.1%, and Qiagen have launched the new Liaison QuantiFeron-Tb Gold Plus II test with CE marking, which increases hourly analysis capacity by 75% and reduces response times for tuberculosis diagnosis by 25%.
Unipol, which opened a new institutional representative office in Brussels to foster dialogue between institutions, gained 0.1%.
Prysmian had a strong session, topping the index with a 4.9% surge to EUR85.02 per share, while Ternaris climbed 2.1% to EUR17.485 per share.
Enel was among the day's worst performers, down 3.0%.
Leonardo slumped 4.9% after announcing on Wednesday, in collaboration with EDGE Group, the definition of general principles for establishing a new joint venture in the United Arab Emirates, expected in 2026. The joint venture will focus on sensors, systems integration, and defense platforms.
Lottomatica and Eni closed up 0.9% and down 0.7%, respectively.
Terna, down 0.5%, reported that Italy's electricity demand in October was 25.5 billion kWh, up 0.2% from October 2024, with the same number of working days and average temperatures two degrees Celsius lower.
On the Mid-Cap, Tamburi, coming off a buyback worth about EUR1.0 million, gained 6.2%, making it the day's best performer. Lohalma, closely linked to TIP's general manager, purchased company shares for over EUR91,000.
According to the ECB, Credem--up 0.3%--remains Italy's strongest bank, among the top three in Europe and second among European commercial banks, consolidating a long-standing leadership.
d'Amico International Shipping announced that FIPA, owned by Cesare d'Amico, sold 60,000 ordinary company shares at an average price of about EUR5.31 each, for a total of around EUR320,000. The stock gained 2.9%.
Safilo Group, which bought back 275,000 of its own shares for EUR505,000, ended slightly lower by 0.1%.
On the Small-Cap, Alantra maintained its view on Eurotech--down 0.9%--after the quarterly report. Analysts believe that strengthening order intake, cost discipline, and a stable financial position set the stage for a stronger year-end, as the market awaits the new strategic plan, seen as the main catalyst for a possible stock re-rating.
EPH resumed its double-digit rally, surging 32% to EUR0.55 per share. Since the board approved RONA's binding offer, the stock has gained 240% in thirty days.
Fidia fell to the bottom, dropping 12% to EUR0.1599 per share.
Banca Sistema, up 1.2%, received payment of EUR103 million from the municipality that was the final recipient of a European Court of Human Rights ruling and has since exited financial distress.
The board of EuroGroup Laminations--down 2.6%--approved the nine-month results, which closed with a net profit of EUR2.6 million, a sharp slowdown from EUR21.6 million in the same period of 2024. However, the Chinese segment continues to grow steadily.
Among SMEs, Mare Group--up 1.0%--announced that the transfer of 100% of Rack Peruzzi Srl's capital to the company has become effective.
According to the terms of the agreement and 2024 results confirmed by due diligence--enterprise value of about EUR2.0 million, adjusted Ebitda of EUR146,000, and net financial position of EUR370,000--the acquisition price was set at EUR250,000.
TMP Group has launched a training project commissioned by Learn International for students of the University of Florida, focusing on communication, media, and sports marketing. The stock closed flat at EUR6.50.
ICF Group--up 4.1% on the day--closed the first nine months of the year with revenues of EUR54.1 million, down from EUR57.6 million as of September 30, 2024.
Health Italia--unchanged at EUR287.00--announced it has received a new ESGe rating from Cerved Rating Agency, reflecting a significant improvement over the previous year. The ESGe rating has risen to AA from A, with an overall score of 75.9, up 2.5 points from the 2024 assessment.
Directa SIM--down 0.7%--held steady on the market, following the first requests for plea bargains in the investigation into alleged illegal banking activity that reportedly hindered, above all, the Bank of Italy's supervision of some struggling institutions, including Carige and Popolare Bari.
In New York, the Dow is down 0.2%, the Nasdaq gains 0.5%, and the S&P 500 rises 0.3%.
On the currency front, the euro trades at USD1.1536 from USD1.1574 at Tuesday's market close, while the pound trades at USD1.3076 from USD1.3139 last night.
Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD63.35 per barrel from USD64.11 at Tuesday's close, while gold is valued at USD4,075.54 per ounce from USD4,065.21 per ounce on Tuesday evening.
Looking ahead to Thursday's economic calendar, at 0800 CET the German producer price index will be released, while at 1100 CET construction production data for the Eurozone is expected.
Spanish consumer confidence will be assessed at 1300 CET, while in the afternoon, attention will turn to U.S. data on unemployment, construction, exports, and wages.
Eurozone consumer confidence will be published at 1600 CET.
In Milan, Piquadro, Laboratorio Farmaceutico Erfo, and iVision Tech will present their nine-month results.
By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter
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