The pressure on Piazza Affari shows no signs of easing, mirroring the situation on other global markets, as fears of renewed trade tensions linked to Greenland—with threats of U.S. tariffs and potential EU countermeasures—continue to weigh on sentiment.

"The developments regarding Greenland come at a time when the market is already somewhat fragile, with bullish sentiment and positioning now facing their first test of 2026," commented MPS strategists in their daily report.

Investors remain closely focused on the World Economic Forum in Davos, where U.S. and European delegations may use the opportunity to attempt to ease current tensions, while an emergency EU summit is scheduled for Thursday.

Risk aversion is driving precious metals higher, with gold reaching new record levels.

Negative signals are also coming from Wall Street, which was closed yesterday for a holiday. Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq have dropped to one-month lows, while the VIX volatility index has hit its highest point in two months.

Around 13:15, the FTSE MIB was down 1.4%, at its lowest since the last session of 2025. Trading volumes stood at 1.3 billion euros.

Stocks in focus:

** Amid widespread selling across all sectors, bank stocks are particularly hard hit, with BANCO BPM and BPER down about 3% and INTESA SANPAOLO losing more than 2%.

** MPS is attempting to resist the downward trend but ultimately slips 0.7%. Analysts view positively a scenario in which CEO Luigi Lovaglio is reconfirmed at the next board renewal. According to some Reuters sources, the Treasury supports a new term for Lovaglio.

** The rest of the financial sector is also down, from insurers—UNIPOL drops 3.2%, GENERALI 1.9%—to asset managers, with AZIMUT off by 2.5%.

** Defense stocks are also falling, with LEONARDO, which was supported yesterday, down 1.7%, and FINCANTIERI dropping 2.7%. After comments yesterday about a possible future merger between the two groups, Leonardo's chairman clarified today that such a move is not currently in the plans.

** Luxury and industrial stocks are also weak.

** Among the few gainers, CAMPARI rises by 1.4%, with Barclays analysts expressing confidence in fourth-quarter results expected in early March and maintaining their "overweight" rating without making significant changes to their estimates. AMPLIFON, topping the FTSE MIB, gains 2.2%.

** NEXI adds 1.1% following speculation that CDP is interested in further increasing its stake in the company.

(Andrea Mandalà, editing by Antonella Cinelli)