MIB in the green; STM leads gains as Moncler faces selling pressure

(Alliance News) - Major European indices opened in positive territory on Wednesday, with Piazza Affari climbing toward the 49,400 level.

Investor attention is focused on President Trump's visit to China, accompanied by leaders of major US corporations, while tensions rise with Iran, which has threatened to increase uranium enrichment in the event of a new attack.

The blockade of Iranian exports from Kharg Island and difficulties in reopening the Strait of Hormuz continue to support oil prices, with crude now firmly established above USD100 per barrel.

Consequently, the FTSE Mib rose 0.9% to 49,435.77, the Mid-Cap advanced 0.7% to 59,661.91, the Small-Cap gained 0.7% to 34,610.56, while Italy Growth was up 0.2% at 8,927.65.

London's FTSE 100 is in the green by 0.8%, Paris's CAC 40 is up 0.2%, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 is advancing by 0.7%.

Back in Milan, on Piazza Affari's blue-chip index, STMicroelectronics took the lead at the open, advancing 4.6% with over 800,000 shares already traded.

BPER Banca saw strong buying interest, up 1.6% with nearly one million shares changing hands. The bank announced that Fitch Ratings upgraded its long-term deposit rating to 'A-' from 'BBB+', while confirming its short-term deposit rating at 'F2'.

Shareholders of Tenaris - up 1.5% - renewed the company's governance, increasing the number of directors to ten. Subsequently, the board re-elected Paolo Rocca as chairman, Guillermo Vogel and GermÝn CurÝ as vice-chairmen, and confirmed Gabriel Podskubka as CEO.

Banca Mediolanum - up 0.8% - is accelerating the potential sale of Flowe, a fintech specializing in payment services for businesses. According to financial sources, four parties are interested, including Nexi, Bancomat, and Numia, which is owned by Fsi, Iccrea Banca, and Banco BPM.

UniCredit also showed strength, posting a 1.0% gain. The Gae Aulenti-based institution announced that Fitch raised the bank's long-term deposit rating from 'A' to 'A+', reflecting greater protection for depositors resulting from the application of recently adopted new bank rating criteria.

The new board of directors of Terna - which shed 0.1% - has taken office, chaired by Stefano Cuzzilla. The board unanimously designated Pasqualino Monti as the new CEO and general manager, confirming the current distribution of powers between the chairman and the CEO.

On the sell side, Lottomatica fell 1.9%, albeit with only 60,000 shares traded.

Among the decliners, Ferrari shed 0.8%, Brunello Cucinelli retreated 1.7%, while Moncler was down 2.1%, sitting at the bottom of the main index.

On the Mid-Cap, Alerion and d'Amico led the gains, each up 3.9%.

Tensions are rising around Ferretti - up 1.8% - ahead of the shareholders' meeting to appoint the new board. The contest pits Chinese majority shareholder Weichai, holding 39.51%, against Czech firm KKCG, which holds 23.23% through Azur As and supports the confirmation of Alberto Galassi as CEO.

As reported by MF-Milano Finanza on Wednesday, several Chinese entities or those close to Weichai have increased their stakes in recent weeks, remaining below the 3% threshold that triggers mandatory disclosure to Consob. These include Bank of China, which purchased 6,734,120 ordinary shares to reach 1.989%.

The board of SOL - up 2.4% at EUR58.90 - approved the consolidated sales figures for the first quarter ended March 31 on Tuesday. Consolidated revenue reached EUR465.2 million, a 7.2% increase compared to the EUR433.9 million recorded last year.

Regarding the company's stock, Berenberg raised its target price to EUR60.00 from EUR59.00 with a 'buy' recommendation.

Philogen also opened higher, gaining 1.4%, after announcing on Tuesday that it closed the first quarter of 2026 with a positive net financial position of EUR355.4 million, down 3.5% from the positive net financial position of EUR368.3 million as of December 31, 2025.

At the bottom of the mid-cap list was NewPrinces, down 3.7%.

On the Small-Cap, Tesmec outperformed all others at the start, advancing 4.0%.

On the other side of the list, Centrale Del Latte D'Italia shed 4.0% on the floor.

Pininfarina saw solid buying - up 3.9% - after announcing on Tuesday that it closed the first quarter with revenue of EUR35.7 million, up from EUR19.1 million in the same period last year. EBITDA rose to EUR1.6 million from a negative EUR200,000, while the operating result turned positive at EUR1.0 million from an operating loss of EUR2.6 million a year earlier.

Banca Sistema opened 0.2% in the green. On Tuesday, the board approved the consolidated financial statements as of March 31, which closed with a net profit of EUR3.8 million, down 67% compared to EUR11.6 million in the same period of 2025. The result does not include the KK Group's pro-rata profit of EUR1.8 million, adjusted to maintain the book equity at the estimated disposal value.

Among the SMEs with the highest trading volume, Circle rose 4.5% while EdiliziAcrobatica fell 3.4%, hitting a new 52-week low of EUR3.42.

Officina Stellare saw bullish momentum, reaching a new 52-week high of EUR35.80 per share.

ETS Engineering and Technical Services - yet to be traded - announced on Tuesday the allocation of an extraordinary corporate bonus totaling EUR110,000 gross for employees to celebrate its stock market listing.

Fope - up 2.0% - is celebrating ten years since its listing with strong growth and new international expansion goals. During its Capital Markets Day in Milan, the group set targets for 2029, its centenary year, with expected revenue between EUR145 million and EUR150 million compared to EUR93.6 million in 2025, and EBITDA projected between EUR33 million and EUR35 million compared to the current EUR20.5 million.

Monnalisa - flat at EUR0.65 - announced on Tuesday that Simone Pratesi has resigned as a director of the company. Riccardo Corradori joins the board in his place.

Valtecne - flat at EUR8.40 - announced on Tuesday that it achieved consolidated revenue of EUR10.3 million in the first quarter, up 9.6% from EUR9.4 million in the same period of 2025.

In Asia, the Nikkei closed up 0.8%, the Shanghai Composite gained 0.7%, while the Hang Seng is slightly in the red.

In New York, at Tuesday's close, the Dow Jones rose 0.1% to 49,760.56, the Nasdaq lost 0.7% to 26,088.20, and the S&P 500 fell 0.2% to 7,400.96.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1714 from USD1.1745 on Tuesday evening, while the pound is trading at USD1.3527 from USD1.3520 yesterday.

Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD106.52 per barrel from USD108.31 per barrel on Tuesday evening, while gold is worth USD4,703.20 per ounce from USD4,652.45 per ounce at yesterday's close.

On Wednesday's economic calendar, at 1110 CEST, two auctions of Italian BTPs with seven and 30-year maturities will be held.

At 1200 CEST, the OPEC monthly report is due, while from 1300 CEST the focus shifts to US mortgages, and at 1430 CEST the US producer price index data will be released.

At Piazza Affari, quarterly results are expected from 25 companies, including Buzzi, MFE, Snam, and Hera, among others.

By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News reporter

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