(Alliance News) - On Monday, the main European markets moved in mixed fashion, continuing to show signs of fragility.
With renewed war tensions and Ukrainian intelligence forecasting a further and massive Russian attack on its territory, defense stocks were rewarded on the Milan Stock Exchange.
On the macroeconomic front, industrial production fell by 1.4% in the euro area and by 0.8% in the EU in December compared to November, when production had risen by 0.3% in the euro area and declined by 0.1% in the EU.
On an annual basis, however, it grew by 1.2% in the euro area and by 1.4% in the EU; the average for the whole of 2025 showed an increase of 1.5% in both aggregates.
Thus, the Mib closed fractionally lower at 45,419.20 points, the Mid-Cap down 0.3% at 59,241.75, the Small-Cap down 2.1% at 35,667.87, and the Italy Growth segment up 0.5% at 8,727.76 points.
On other exchanges: the CAC 40 rose by 0.1%, the FTSE 100 by 0.3%, while the DAX 40 closed down 0.4%.
"It was a patchy start to the week for global markets due to Chinese and US holidays, which essentially made Monday a write-off for most investors. That said, the appetite for buying on dips remains strong, as evidenced by today's rebound in UK bank stocks, which helped lift the FTSE 100 throughout the session," observed Chris Beauchamp of IG.
"Friday's US inflation data should help revive risk appetite, though there is still anxious monitoring of which sector will next fall victim to fears of disruption from artificial intelligence," the analyst concluded.
On Piazza Affari, Fincantieri – up 3.4% – received an order worth over EUR2.00 billion from Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings for the construction of three new-generation cruise ships.
Leonardo, which signed a contract with the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Defense for the supply of four C-27J Maritime Patrol Aircraft, closed up 3.6%. The global Spartan fleet has surpassed 290,000 flight hours.
At the same time, the Italian company, together with Airbus, announced the start of the second phase of the European Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies project, a three-year EU co-funded program to promote future military helicopter capabilities.
Eni – down 0.2% at EUR18.148 per share – confirmed a new oil discovery offshore Angola, made in a block operated by its joint venture Azule Energy with London-based BP, calling the find "significant" based on initial assessments.
At the bottom of the list were STM down 2.0%, DiaSorin down 3.0%, and Nexi down 3.5%.
Net profits rose 14% for the five largest Italian banks: from EUR22.8 billion in 2024 to EUR26.05 billion in the latest fiscal year.
As a result, shares rebounded with UniCredit up 0.6%, BPM up 1.2%, BPER up 1.9%, MPS up 0.7%, while Intesa slipped 0.8% into the red.
On the Mid-Cap, UBS maintains a 'neutral' recommendation on Interpump Group – down 4.8% – with a target price of EUR43.10, compared to a February 13 close at EUR41.50. The rating follows a very negative market reaction, with the stock down about 20% after results.
BFF Bank saw sales, down 12% at EUR3.838 per share, while the top of the list was held by Comer Industries up 3.9% and Sanlorenzo up 4.3%, the latter driven by positive results.
PharmaNutra also performed well, closing up 3.8% at EUR65.20 per share.
On the Small-Cap, EuroGroup Laminations plunged after the collapse of the deal announced last summer between EMS Euro Management Services, EuroGroup Laminations' main shareholder, and Ferrum Investment, a vehicle controlled by funds managed by FountainVest. The stock fell by 59% to EUR1.455 per share.
OPS Retail – down 6.0% – announced that Filippo Ezio Fanelli resigned with immediate effect from the position of chairman and board member for personal reasons on February 12.
Antares Vision – with daily losses of 0.2% – closed 2025 with accelerated orders but slightly declining revenues and a downward revision of medium-term growth prospects.
In 2025, orders grew by 19% year-on-year and by 21% at constant exchange rates, improving on the 9% increase in the first nine months.
Met.Extra Group performed well, up 5.2% at EUR2.04 per share.
Among SMEs, KME and the holding company of Emosia Group reached an agreement for the sale to Berger International of 2.4 million Culti Milano shares in December. The new long stop date is set for March 15, 2026, extending the original deadline. Culti Milano shares were down 0.5%.
FAE Technology, up 3.7%, secured orders worth EUR2 million for prototyping and production of high-tech solutions for power management and conversion within complex electronic devices.
TMP Group, down 5.2%, announced that shareholders have appointed a new board of directors. The board will have three members – Roberto Rosati, Basilio Antonino Scaturro, and independent Marco Piccolo – and will remain in office until approval of the 2028 financial statements. The total annual board compensation will be EUR105,000.
Tecno performed strongly, up 20% at EUR2.94 per share.
In the US, markets remain closed for President Day.
On the currency front, the euro traded at USD1.1854 from USD1.1868 at Friday's European equity close, while the pound traded at USD1.3628 from USD1.3624 on Friday evening.
Among commodities, Brent traded at USD68.50 per barrel from USD67.53 per barrel on Friday evening, while gold was valued at USD4,985.15 an ounce from USD5,019.46 an ounce on Friday evening.
On Tuesday's economic calendar, at 0800 CET the German consumer price index will be published, with a simultaneous focus on UK unemployment.
At 1000 CET, Italy's trade balance data will be released, followed at 1100 CET by the German ZEW economic sentiment index.
US employment data will be released at 1415 CET.
Edison and Recordati will present results on Piazza Affari.
By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter
Comments and questions to redazione@alliancenews.com
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