(Alliance News) - On Wednesday, European markets closed on a mixed note, with Paris remaining flat, Frankfurt in the red, and London enjoying a strong session. Milan's Piazza Affari was buoyed by banks for the third consecutive session.
The session, on the macro front, was marked by inflation data: the annual rate in the Eurozone was revised down to 2.1% in November from the preliminary 2.2%, in line with October's figure. Meanwhile, the consumer price index fell by 0.3% from the previous month, the first decline since January and in line with expectations.
The prospect of further easing by the European Central Bank is fading, especially after officials deemed additional cuts in 2026 "unnecessary." President Christine Lagarde also emphasized that the Eurozone, despite geopolitical and trade tensions, is showing enough resilience to warrant an upward revision of growth forecasts.
In the EU, the Mercosur agreement remains a hot topic, with Italy and France standing firm as their respective governments consider signing the deal "premature."
In this context, the Mib closed up 0.3% at 44,099.48 points, the Mid-Cap lost 0.9% to 57,709.92, the Small-Cap slipped slightly to 35,929.15, and the Italy Growth index fell 0.3% to 8,466.78 points.
Paris's CAC 40 dropped 0.3%, Frankfurt's DAX 40 ended down 0.5%, and London's FTSE 100 gained 0.9%.
On Piazza Affari, Italgas, up 0.7%, had its 'BBB+' rating with a stable outlook confirmed by Fitch.
Saipem, which launched a new buyback program for up to 20.9 million ordinary shares to serve the current year's long-term variable incentive plan, closed up 0.4%.
Recordati also launched a buyback plan for up to EUR55 million. The stock rose 1.1%.
Leonardo – up 0.3% – signed a contract to supply 12 M-346 F Block 20 multirole aircraft to the Austrian Air Force, as part of an agreement with the Directorate of Aeronautical Armaments and Airworthiness.
Bank stocks saw buying: Popolare di Sondrio gained 2.9%, BPM rose 1.8%, and BPER Banca climbed 2.7%.
Moncler and Stellantis, on the other hand, posted losses of 2.3% and 0.8% respectively. Buzzi closed out the basket down 3.6% at EUR51.35 per share.
On the Mid-Cap, Banco di Desio e della Brianza, up 0.5%, participated in the capital increase of Credito Lombardo Veneto, a private bank with offices in Brescia, Sarezzo, and Bergamo, acquiring a 9.81% stake in its share capital.
Mondadori is granting full autonomy to its digital division with the launch of Mondadori Digital, operational from January 1, 2026, and wholly owned by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore. Mondadori Digital will start with an overall base of about 125 million followers in Italy and abroad and more than 33 million unique monthly users. The stock gained 1.0%.
Riello returns to Italian control thanks to its acquisition by Ariston Group, with a daily gain of 2.9% to EUR4.45 per share, following an agreement with U.S.-based Carrier Global Corporation for the purchase of 100% of the group, with an enterprise value of EUR289 million.
De' Longhi – down 2.0% – announced the inclusion of its stock in the STOXX Europe 600 index, effective from the market opening on Monday, December 22.
Tinexta made changes to its governance with the appointment of a new board of directors, while the stock was up 0.1%.
On the Small-Cap, Antares Vision announced that Crane NXT Inspection and Tracking Technologies, the company designated by Crane NXT as the buyer, completed the acquisition of 32.4% of the fully diluted capital, equal to 25.9% of voting rights, purchasing about 16.9 million shares from Regolo and 6.6 million shares from Sargas at EUR5.00 each, for a total consideration of EUR117.3 million.
The threshold for the mandatory takeover bid and subsequent delisting has been surpassed. Antares shares rose 0.4%.
OPS eCom completed the full acquisition of two transport companies, SCL and KCT: the stock surged 12%.
The presence of SS Lazio at the Nasdaq "closing bell" ceremony goes beyond a simple symbolic gesture, as it is seen as a move to strengthen and position the brand internationally. The stock, which hit a 52-week high at EUR1.20 per share, closed up 7.0%.
EPH – up 2.9% – reported that RONA Limited Company has fully subscribed and paid, through a cash contribution, the remaining portion of its capital increase.
Among SMEs, Circle announced that its subsidiary eXyond has made available, via the Electronic Market of Public Administration, a new "FCD meta-data service – regional road traffic monitoring" to a major highway company for a period of 24 months. The stock slipped 2.0%.
ErreDue signed a EUR1.5 million agreement with Pacella Luxury Real Estate for the supply of a 1 MW green hydrogen production plant, to be built at the Torrenieri-Montalcino site in the province of Siena. The stock rose 3.0%.
eVISO – up 1.5% – announced that the transition of the MGP from hourly to 15-minute blocks resulted in deviations of more than ±EUR15/MWh in the cost of electricity procurement on the national power market.
FAE Technology completed the first closing for the acquisition of the entire share capital of Kayser Italia for EUR1.1 million. A second closing will see an additional EUR570,000 paid, plus a potential earn-out of up to EUR300,000; after 18 months from the first closing, a deferred cash payment of EUR1.1 million is expected. The stock grew 4.8%.
Rocket Sharing Co has entered into a commercial partnership with myPOS, a European digital payments platform, aimed at developing fintech services for professionals and businesses: the stock saw no trading activity.
Giocamondo Study – up 5.8% – closed the fiscal year ended September 30 with a profit of EUR1.3 million, up 5.0% from the previous year. The company proposed a dividend distribution of EUR0.06 per share.
In New York, the Dow Jones slipped 0.2%, the Nasdaq fell 1.2%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.8%.
On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1749 from USD1.1779 at Tuesday's equity close, while the pound is trading at USD1.3392 from USD1.3420 last night.
Among commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD59.82 per barrel from USD58.86 per barrel on Tuesday, while gold is valued at USD4,326.25 an ounce from USD4,360.25 an ounce on Tuesday night.
On Thursday's economic calendar, at 1100 CET, Eurozone construction data is expected, while at 1300 CET, the Bank of England's interest rate decision will be released.
At 1415 CET, the ECB will issue statements on monetary policy and interest rates.
From 1430 CET, focus shifts to the US labor market, while at 1445 CET, the ECB press conference will be held. At 2230 CET, the Fed's balance sheet will be released in the US.
On Piazza Affari, Sesa's half-year results are expected.
By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter
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