Mib Edges Higher; Cucinelli Leads as Best Performer

(Alliance News) – The Mib closed slightly higher on Friday, finishing above 45,700 points, following the previous session's gains and mirroring the upward trend seen across other European financial markets.

On the domestic front, as explained by Istat on Friday, retail sales in November recorded growth compared to the previous month, both in value and volume, up by 0.5% and 0.6% respectively. The increase affected both food goods, up 0.5%, and non-food goods, up 0.7%.

Year-on-year, in November, retail sales saw an increase of 1.3% in value and 0.5% in volume. Food sales rose by 1.3% in value but fell by 0.5% in volume, while non-food goods increased by 1.4% in value and 1.1% in volume.

Thus, the Mib closed up 0.1% at 45,719.26 points, the Mid-Cap ended 0.8% higher at 61,021.07, the Small-Cap gained 0.1% at 37,648.91, and the Italy Growth index also closed up 0.1% at 8,837.63 points.

Paris's CAC 40 gained 1.4%, Frankfurt's DAX 40 advanced 0.5%, while London's FTSE 100 rose by 0.8%.

At Piazza Affari, Brunello Cucinelli surged, closing up 3.3% at EUR99.42 per share, building on the previous session's 0.6% gain and ahead of Monday's upcoming earnings report.

Saipem – up 1.4% – announced Friday the resumption of operations for the Perro Negro 7 jack-up rig in Saudi Arabia starting January 2026. The company had secured the Perro Negro 7 contract in 2011, which was extended in June 2023 for 10 years. The contract was temporarily suspended in 2024 for 12 months. The suspension period will be made up at the end of the contract, thus extending its duration until 2034.

Leonardo slipped 0.1% to EUR58.48. UBS maintained a cautious view on Leonardo, keeping a 'neutral' recommendation and raising the target price to EUR60.00 from EUR52.50, citing the recent sector rerating and a slight refinement of its valuation model. UBS said it is in line with consensus in forecasting "over 10% upside compared to the previous 2027 industrial plan revenue target", reinforcing the idea of a structurally more ambitious growth trajectory. According to the bank, during the results presentation, the market may also expect guidance on a possible partnership linked to the Boeing 787 program, consistent with previous management communications.

Banca Mediolanum – down 0.7% – announced Friday the group's commercial results, highlighting that in 2025 it surpassed historic highs in net inflows, supported by strong market performance and growth in managed assets. For the full year, total net inflows reached EUR11.64 billion, up 11% from EUR10.44 billion in 2024.

Italgas, meanwhile, dropped 2.1% after three consecutive bullish sessions. Notably, Syquant Capital reduced its short position on the stock to 0.37% from the previous 0.58%.

Among the Mid-Caps, Intercos advanced by 5.0% to EUR11.84 per share, following a 2.7% gain in the previous session.

Ferretti rose by 2.6%. The company announced Thursday that Ferretti International Holding purchased 205,000 ordinary shares of the company. The shares were acquired at an average price of EUR3.1737, for a total consideration of approximately EUR651,000.

MAIRE – up 1.7% – reported Thursday that it purchased 742,578 of its own ordinary shares between January 2 and 8. The shares were bought at an average price of EUR13.2940, for a total value of EUR9.9 million.

Enav dropped 1.7% to EUR4.87, subject to profit-taking after four consecutive bullish sessions.

On the Small-Cap index, Geox gained 3.4% to EUR0.32 per share. The stock – with a free float of about 28% and estimated by MarketScreener with a P/E ratio of 6.2x for the end of 2025 – had closed the previous session down 1.1%.

Eurogroup Laminations rose 3.1% to EUR3.38 per share, rebounding after three losing sessions.

IGD SIIQ – down 2.0% – announced Thursday it has chosen Evogy for an energy efficiency and smart building management project, which forms part of the group's broader decarbonization and sustainability plan. Evogy is an Italian tech company specializing in digital systems for optimizing and improving building energy efficiency.

Aeffe, on the other hand, fell 6.2%. The stock – which has not paid a dividend since 2009 – marked its fourth consecutive bearish candle.

Among SMEs, Farmacosmo rose 3.4%, after a loss of more than 13% in the previous session.

Haiki+ gained 0.5%. The company announced Friday the appointment of Fabio Patti as general manager of Haiki Metals and Carlo Emanuele Pepe as head of institutional relations. Haiki Metals is the group's new business unit dedicated to the production of lead and lead alloys from spent batteries.

Directa SIM – down 0.8% – said Friday it had reached 137,568 clients, marking a 32% increase year-on-year. The total value of client assets reached EUR9.7 billion, up 47% from about EUR6.6 billion in December 2024. As the company explained in a note, the rise in asset value was driven by new client acquisitions and strong market performance over the past 12 months.

CleanBnB – down 2.3% – reported management data for fiscal 2025, showing growth in activity compared to the previous year, despite what the company described as a particularly challenging market environment. Gross booking, representing income generated from managed stays, reached EUR51.7 million for the full year 2025, up 5% from EUR49.2 million in 2024. In the fourth quarter, gross bookings amounted to EUR10.4 million, in line with the fourth quarter of 2024, confirming substantial stability in the latter part of the year.

In New York on Thursday, the Dow Jones was up 0.6%, as was the S&P 500, while the Nasdaq gained 0.8%.

On the currency front, the euro changed hands at USD1.1631 from USD1.1656 at Thursday's close in European equities, while the pound traded at USD1.3407 from USD1.3431 last night.

In commodities, Brent traded at USD63.47 per barrel from USD61.14 per barrel at Thursday's European market close, while gold was valued at USD4,504.32 per ounce from USD4,454.95 per ounce last night.

On Monday's economic calendar, the Eurozone investor confidence index is due at 1030 CET.

From the USA, at 1730 CET, FOMC member Barkin will deliver a speech.

Among companies, Monday will see earnings from Brunello Cucinelli and Growens.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News Reporter

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