(Alliance News) - On Friday, at the open, Piazza Affari hovered near 47,500 points while Paris showed little momentum following GDP data that highlighted a slowdown in growth. Frankfurt's stock exchange also opened weak.
Thus, the FTSE Mib is up 0.1% at 47,473.07, the Mid-Cap is down 0.1% at 60,150.76, the Small-Cap rises 0.4% to 36,430.45, while Italy Growth advances 0.3% to 8,776.12.
London's FTSE 100 is up 0.4%, Paris' CAC 40 is fractionally in the red, as is Frankfurt's DAX 40.
Back in Milan, on the main list of Piazza Affari, Prysmian jumped to the top at the open, gaining 4.0%.
Having completed the integration phase of its recent acquisitions in the USA, such as Channel and Encore Wire, and following smaller deals involving Xtera and Acsm, the group is now eyeing a new transformative operation. The CEO explained that several opportunities are being evaluated, with the aim of closing a deal in the coming months and further redefining the company's perimeter.
Saipem also performed well, rising 2.0% with over 8 million shares changing hands, while Buzzi was up 2.3%.
At the bottom of the main basket, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena – down 3.9% – announced Friday the approval of its 2026–2030 industrial plan. This comes after the successful public tender offer and exchange on Mediobanca, with a participation rate of 86.3%, and foresees the merger by incorporation of Mediobanca into MPS, with expected synergies of EUR700 million once fully operational.
The new group aims to become the third-largest banking player in Italy, with over 7 million clients and a significant contribution from high-fee activities, including Asset Gathering & Wealth Management, Corporate & Investment Banking, and Private Banking, making up about 44% of total pro-forma revenues.
On the financial front, the plan foresees, by 2030, a net interest and other banking income of EUR9.5 billion compared to EUR7.6 billion in 2025, an adjusted net profit of EUR3.7 billion versus EUR2.4 billion, and a cost/income ratio reduced to 38% from 46%. The CET1 ratio is expected to remain around 16% throughout the plan's horizon, with a 100% payout and cumulative distributions estimated at around EUR16 billion.
Mediobanca – down 2.5% – announced Friday that its board of directors met yesterday to continue the review and analysis activities in view of defining the merger project with Banca Monte Paschi di Siena and the related share exchange.
The board and the Related Parties Committee will continue their respective review activities, which are expected to conclude on March 10, 2026, the company explained in a statement.
Eni was strong, up 0.9% at EUR19.532 per share. UBS raised its target price on the stock to EUR21.00 from EUR18.00 with a 'buy' recommendation.
Poste Italiane advanced 0.2% to EUR23.05. Barclays raised its target price to EUR22.00 from the previous EUR21.50, maintaining an 'equal weight' rating.
Terna – up 0.1% – announced Thursday that its subsidiaries Terna Plus and Rete signed a binding agreement with Engie Transmisión Perú, a company of the Engie group, for the sale of 100% of the shares of Terna Peru.
The latter owns a 138kV power line, 132km in length, connecting the Aguaytía and Pucallpa substations in the Ucayali region of Peru.
Among the decliners, Enel fell 0.3%, while Moncler retreated 0.4%.
Fincantieri opened down 0.9% at EUR14.51, after Deutsche Bank Research cut its target price to EUR18.50 from EUR23.00, maintaining a 'buy' recommendation.
On the Mid-Cap, ERG and d'Amico led the gains, up 3.5% and 2.7%, respectively.
MAIRE – up 0.8% – announced it had bought back 448,496 of its own ordinary shares between February 20 and 26, for a total value of EUR6.9 million.
Selling hit Pirelli & C, down 0.9% at EUR6.414, after gains the previous day. The stock set a new 52-week high on Thursday at EUR6.604 per share.
At the bottom of the secondary list was Ferretti, down 2.3%.
On the Small-Cap, doValue started well, up 8.2%. The board approved the preliminary results for 2025 on Thursday. The net loss stood at EUR8.2 million, compared to a profit of EUR1.9 million in 2024. Adjusted net profit, which excludes non-recurring items, more than tripled to EUR25.3 million from EUR6.7 million.
In light of the results, the dividend proposal to be submitted to the next board of directors is expected to be in line with the group's dividend policy.
On the other end of the list, Beewize fell 4.7%.
Buying was seen on IGD SIIQ, up 0.1%. The board approved the annual accounts on Thursday, closing with a group net profit of EUR32.0 million – marking a return to positive results after three years – compared to a loss of EUR30.1 million in 2024.
The board will propose a dividend distribution of EUR0.15 per share, up 50% from the dividend paid in 2025.
Trevi Finanziaria Industriale – up 0.8% – announced Thursday that the board of directors has appointed, until otherwise resolved, independent director Matteo Adolfo Maria Mognaschi as lead independent director.
Among SMEs, among the most traded stocks by value, Casta Diva Group fell 2.0%.
Dedem rose 1.5% after announcing it closed 2025 with a consolidated net profit of EUR1.8 million, down 18% from EUR2.2 million in 2024.
Mare Group – up 3.5% – reported Friday that, since the start of 2026, its Infrastructure & Building Division La SIA has acquired new orders totaling EUR4.3 million, an increase of 38% compared to the same period in 2025.
Meanwhile, the takeover bid for Eles – flat at EUR3.21 – is moving to the legal front, as Milano Finanza explained Friday.
The semiconductor company is the subject of two offers: Mare Group at EUR2.65 per share and the Xenon fund, in agreement with the Zaffarami family, at EUR3.2, closing on February 27. MF writes that the board has decided to accept Xenon's offer.
At the bottom of the alternative list, Vivenda Group dropped 12%.
In New York on Thursday, the Dow Jones closed fractionally higher, the S&P 500 lost 0.5%, while the Nasdaq dropped 1.2%.
Among Asian markets, the Nikkei closed up 0.2%, the Shanghai Composite finished 0.4% higher, while the Hang Seng advanced 1.0%.
On the currency front, the euro traded at USD1.1812 from USD1.1793 at Thursday's close in European equities, while the pound traded at USD1.3492 from USD1.3533 last night.
Among commodities, Brent traded at USD71.33 per barrel from USD72.36 per barrel Thursday evening, while gold was valued at USD5,180.55 an ounce from USD5,178.00 an ounce last night.
Among the main events on Friday's economic calendar, at 0955 CET the German unemployment rate will be released, while at 1000 CET Italy's industrial sales data will be available. At the same time, focus will be on Germany's inflation data.
At 1100 CET, Italy will release its trade balance data.
At 2030 CET the COT Report will be published.
On Piazza Affari's corporate calendar, results are expected from Renovalo, Reti, Sogefi, TXT e-solutions, and 4AIM Sicaf.
By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News reporter
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