Milan Stands Out in Green; China Holds Rates Steady

(Alliance News) - On Monday, the main European stock indices are expected to open in negative territory, with the exception of Milan, on the first day of a shortened week ahead of the Christmas break.

According to IG futures, the FTSE Mib is set to open up 0.3%, or 117.5 points higher, after closing up 0.7% at 44,757.55.

Paris's CAC 40 is forecast to drop 0.3%, or down 22.2 points, Frankfurt's DAX 40 is expected to fall 0.2%, or down 39.5 points, while London's FTSE 100 is seen down 0.2%, or 10.3 points lower.

On the macroeconomic front, China's central bank left its lending rates unchanged in December, as expected, following the latest Monetary Policy Committee meeting.

The People's Bank of China held the one-year prime lending rate steady at 3.0% and the five-year prime lending rate at 3.5% for the seventh consecutive month, in line with forecasts.

The last rate revision by the central bank was in May, when it cut the one-year and five-year LPRs by 10 basis points, from 3.1% and 3.6% respectively.

In the UK, the British economy saw a slowdown in growth in the third quarter of the year. Gross Domestic Product rose by 0.1% quarter-on-quarter in the three months to September 30. GDP had grown by 0.2% in the second quarter, revised down from the previous figure of 0.3%.

On an annual basis, GDP grew by 1.3%, down from 1.4% in the second quarter.

The ONS confirmed that UK GDP grew by 1.1% over the course of 2024.

Back in Italy, among Milan's secondary indices on Friday, the Mid-Cap rose 0.1% to 58,550.00, the Small Cap posted a slight gain at 36,212.88, and Italy Growth added 0.4% to 8,511.34.

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

On Milan's main blue-chip index, Saipem closed up 2.0%, leading the pack.

Leonardo also rose 1.9%, rebounding after recent losses. On Friday, the company announced a strengthening of its airport operations in the USA with two contracts for advanced baggage management systems worth over USD120 million, destined for Houston Hobby and Melbourne Orlando airports.

The contracts include the supply of Baggage Handling System solutions designed to modernize operations without disrupting daily airport activities, improving speed, safety, and reliability in baggage processing, as well as increasing operational efficiency and reducing maintenance costs.

Prysmian – up 1.1% – completed the earn-out payment 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 linked to Terna's performance on specific environmental, social, and governance indicators.

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

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 with a 1.3% drop.

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

MAIRE – up 1.8% – announced on Friday that Nextchem, through its subsidiary Stamicarbon, a licensor of nitrogen fertilizer technology, has secured the supply of 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% after announcing that, between December 15 and 18, the group acquired shares in Inspecs Group amounting to 25% of the company's share capital, for a total consideration of about GBP21.7 million. However, Safilo cannot take control of Inspecs.

OVS, which closed the nine months with an adjusted pre-tax profit of EUR87.8 million, an improvement of 22% – equal to EUR15.6 million – over the January-September 2024 period, when it was EUR72.3 million. The stock rose 1.9%.

Ariston Holding fell 4.3% after acquiring Riello in a deal with US-based Carrier Global Corporation to purchase 100% of the group, with an enterprise value of EUR289 million.

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

IGD – flat at the end of the session – 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 agreement is expected to generate additional revenues of EUR1.6 million.

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

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

DHH has launched a capital increase operation, for cash and in divisible form, with the exclusion of pre-emption rights, for a total maximum amount of EUR10.0 million, to be subscribed by December 31, 2025.

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

ESI – up 1.8% – completed the acquisition of 100% of the share capital of ED Solar 2, a special purpose vehicle set up for the construction and operation 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 deal is valued at EUR600,000, financed entirely with the newco's own funds, with a total outlay of about EUR539,000. The stock closed flat.

In New York on Friday, the Dow closed up 0.4% at 48,134.89, while the Nasdaq rose 1.3% to 23,307.62 and the S&P 500 ended up 0.9% at 6,834.50.

Among Asian markets, the Hang Seng is up 0.2%, the Shanghai Composite is gaining 0.7%, and the Nikkei is up 1.8%.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1715 from USD1.1715 at Friday's equity close, while the pound is changing hands at USD1.3398 from USD1.3373 on Friday evening.

Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD61.19 a barrel from USD60.01 per barrel in the previous session, while gold is at USD4,445.45 an ounce from USD4,350.32 an ounce on Friday evening.

Monday's macroeconomic calendar at 1000 CET features Italy's producer price index.

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

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

By Claudia Cavaliere, Alliance News reporter

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