Mib Rises at Session Close, Saipem and Leonardo Lead Gains

(Alliance News) - Piazza Affari ended the last session of the final full trading week of the year with gains, driven by stocks across various sectors.

Meanwhile, the Italian economy is expected to grow at a moderate but steady pace over the 2025-2028 period, mainly supported by expanding consumption and investments linked to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).

This is according to the new macroeconomic projections published Friday by the Bank of Italy.

Estimates indicate that Gross Domestic Product will increase by 0.6% in both 2025 and 2026, accelerating to 0.8% in 2027 and 0.9% in 2028. Household consumption growth is being supported by rising real disposable income and a gradual reduction in uncertainty, while investments continue to expand, albeit at a slower pace than in recent years.

On the price front, inflation as measured by the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices is forecast at 1.7% in 2025 and 1.4% in 2026, before rising to 1.6% in 2027 and 1.9% in 2028. The uptick in inflation in the final year is attributed to the effects of the new European emissions trading system, expected to come into force from 2028.

Core inflation, excluding energy and food, is expected to stabilize at around 1.6% in the medium term.

The FTSE Mib closed Friday up 0.7% at 44,757.55, the Mid-Cap rose 0.1% to 58,550.00, the Small Cap registered a slight increase to 36,212.88, and Italy Growth gained 0.4% to 8,511.34.

Across Europe, the CAC 40 closed up 0.3%, the DAX 40 gained 0.4%, and the FTSE 100 rose 0.6%.

On the main capitalization list in Milan, Saipem closed up 2.0%, outperforming all others.

Leonardo also rose, up 1.9%, rebounding after recent losses. The company announced Friday it had strengthened its airport operations in the USA thanks to two contracts for advanced baggage handling systems worth over USD120 million, destined for Houston Hobby and Melbourne Orlando airports.

The contracts involve the provision of Baggage Handling System solutions capable of modernizing operations without disrupting daily airport activity, improving speed, security, and reliability in baggage processing, as well as increasing operational efficiency and reducing maintenance costs.

Prysmian – up 1.1% – proceeded with the payment of the earn-out for Channell, a US-based company specializing in thermoplastic enclosures and fiber optic management solutions, for a total of USD200 million.

Terna gained 1.3% after signing an ESG-linked credit facility agreement with UniCredit for a total amount of EUR300 million.

The credit line will have a total duration of five years, with an interest rate also tied to Terna's performance on specific environmental, social, and governance indicators.

Enel is preparing to return to the debt market also in 2026. The board of directors, which met Thursday, approved the issuance of one or more non-convertible bonds in the form of hybrid subordinated securities, including perpetuals, for a maximum total amount of EUR2 billion. The stock was up 1.4%.

Additionally, S&P upgraded the energy group's outlook to Positive from Stable, while confirming its long-term debt rating at 'BBB' and short-term debt rating at 'A-2'.

TIM and Ferrari also performed well, up 1.8% and 1.7% respectively, while at the bottom of the basket, Brunello Cucinelli closed down 2.1%, followed by Moncler, down 1.3%.

On the Mid-Cap, Fincantieri ended the final session up 2.4%. On Monday, the shipbuilding company will debut on the FTSE Mib.

MAIRE – up 1.8% – announced Friday that Nextchem, through its subsidiary Stamicarbon, a licensor of nitrogen fertilizer technology, has won a contract to supply licensing, process design package, and proprietary equipment based on NX STAMI Urea technology for a new urea plant in eastern China for a major fertilizer producer.

Pirelli & C. – down 0.2% – announced the conversion of convertible bonds worth EUR496.5 million, equal to 99.3% of the EUR500 million loan maturing on December 22.

The conversion resulted in the issuance of 84.9 million new ordinary shares at a price of EUR5.8493 per share.

Safilo Group closed down 1.2% and reported that, between December 15 and 18, the group purchased shares in Inspecs Group totaling 25% of the company's share capital, for a total consideration of about GBP21.7 million. However, Safilo cannot take control of Inspecs.

OVS reported a nine-month adjusted pre-tax result of EUR87.8 million, an improvement of 22% – or EUR15.6 million – compared to the January-September 2024 period, when it was EUR72.3 million. The stock rose 1.9%.

Ariston Holding dropped 4.3%, following the acquisition of Riello through an agreement with the American Carrier Global Corporation to purchase 100% of the group, with an enterprise value of EUR289 million.

On the Small-Cap, Borgosesia announced the increase to EUR25 million of the first tranche of the "Borgosesia 6.30%" bond loan, just hours after placement began, in response to higher-than-expected market interest. The stock rose 1.4%.

IGD – flat at session close – signed an agreement with Coop Alleanza 3.0 for technical management, property management, and leasing activities on a portfolio of over 40 assets including shopping centers, hypermarkets, and supermarkets. The deal should generate additional revenues of EUR1.6 million.

Landi Renzo, after gaining 10% the previous day, rose a further 4.4%.

Among SMEs, FAE Technology – flat at the close – has entered into a strategic partnership with Digiproces, one of Spain's leading Electronics Manufacturing Services companies.

Braga Moro – up 2.2% – continues to strengthen its presence in the Saudi market and, more broadly, in the Middle East, through large contracts directly managed by its local operating division.

DHH launched a transaction involving a paid and divisible capital increase, excluding pre-emptive rights, for a maximum total amount of EUR10.0 million, to be subscribed by December 31, 2025.

The increase will be carried out through the issue of up to 434,000 new ordinary shares. The stock rose 6.9%.

ESI – up 1.8% – finalized the acquisition of 100% of the share capital of ED Solar 2, a special purpose entity established for the construction and management of a 1.65 MW photovoltaic plant.

Gentili Mosconi finalized the acquisition of Lanificio Cesare Gatti, a historic company in the Biella textile district specializing in cashmere. The value of the transaction was EUR600,000, entirely financed with the newco's own resources, with a total outlay of about EUR539,000. The stock closed flat.

In New York, the Dow Jones was up 0.5% at 48,212.45, the Nasdaq rose 1.0% to 23,244.68, and the S&P 500 gained 0.8% to 6,828.66.

In currency markets, the euro traded at USD1.1715 from USD1.1737 at Thursday's equity close, while the pound traded at USD1.3373 from USD1.3393 the previous evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude traded at USD60.01 per barrel from USD60.17 per barrel on Thursday, while gold was valued at USD4,350.32 an ounce from USD4,364.70 an ounce Thursday evening.

Monday's macroeconomic calendar opens with the Chinese central bank's decision on the prime interest rate at 0200 CET, before moving to the UK, where GDP figures will be released at 0800 CET.

At 1000 CET, Italy's producer price index is due.

For the rest of the day, focus will be on French and US bond auctions, with little else to mark the European afternoon.

Among companies on Piazza Affari, H-Farm results are expected.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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