(Alliance News) - European stock markets closed mixed on Wednesday, but still on a weak note.
On the macro front, the Eurozone private sector economy recorded another strong expansion in November, with the fastest growth in two and a half years, according to data from the S&P Global survey released on Wednesday.
In addition, in Italy, the private sector grew at a faster pace in November than in the previous month, rising to 55 points from 54, driven by expansion in service activity.
The FTSE Mib ended trading up 0.1% at 43,380.64, the Mid-Cap slightly down at 58,277.44, the Small-Cap closed up 0.2% at 35,936.71, and the Italy Growth fell to 8,490.47 points.
The CAC 40 closed up 0.1%, while the DAX 40 and FTSE 100 ended down 0.1%.
On the geopolitical front, peace negotiations and the possibility that two-year funding for Ukraine will come from the freezing of Russian assets in the EU are dominating the headlines.
According to Luca Picotti, an expert at the Golden Power Observatory, speaking to Alliance News, "Such a drastic move requires at least the unanimous support of the G7 countries and the certainty that it will be decisive, and not just a political signal. Today, however, unilateral action would risk hindering any peace plans that include chapters on reserves."
On the Milan Stock Exchange, Eni - up 1.0% - announced the early start of phase two of its Congo Liquid Natural Gas project. The start of phase two follows the arrival of the Nguya FLNG floating liquefaction unit and the injection of gas into the new offshore infrastructure system.
On the banking front, the board of directors of Monte dei Paschi di Siena, up 1.4%, will meet on Friday to hear the report of the CEO, Luigi Lovaglio, on the investigations involving him, together with Caltagirone and Milleri, for alleged market manipulation in the takeover of Mediobanca, up 0.4%.
Leonardo, up 1.7%, strengthened its global presence with the inauguration of the new Regional Cyber Center in Kuala Lumpur, which is set to serve as a strategic hub for Southeast Asia.
Stellantis - at the top of daily purchases with 7.7% - accelerates its relaunch in the US. The Chrysler Tech Center is filling up again after years of remote working: around 2,000 new hires are underway in engineering, quality, product development, and production. The new resources will support the €13 billion industrial plan announced by CEO Antonio Filosa, which includes investments in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio and the creation of 5,000 factory jobs.
Ferrari announced on Wednesday that Scuderia Ferrari HP has signed an extension of its historic partnership with Philip Morris International, a collaboration that has lasted more than fifty years. The stock ended up 2.7%.
Lottomatica closed down 3.1% at EUR21.90 per share.
On the Mid-Cap, doValue - up 3.6% - signed a new strategic agreement with Banco Santander SA for the management of new NPL flows in Spain, effective January 1, 2026.
After completing its acquisition on Monday, NewPrinces Group, which fell 0.1%, is aiming to integrate Carrefour Italia by 2028 and create a group with revenues of over EUR 8 billion by 2030. The new player, Italy's second largest in food & beverage, will have EBITDA of over EUR 550 million.
MFE-MediaForEurope announced on Wednesday that Reti Televisive Italiane and Medusa Film have filed a lawsuit in the Civil Court of Rome against Perplexity AI, a US company active in generative artificial intelligence, launching the first legal action in Italy related to alleged copyright infringements in the field of AI. Class A shares fell 0.6% while Class B shares fell 0.4%.
The best daily buys were on Zignago Vetro, up 4.3% to EUR7.45 per share.
In the small-cap sector, OPS eCom signed a partnership agreement with Stefano Ricci, the Italian luxury fashion house. Ricci converted a EUR 2.8 million debt owed by OPS eCom into capital by subscribing to a reserved capital increase. The transaction involves the issue of 13.5 million shares at a unit price of EUR 0.21. The stock recorded sales of 1.4%.
Antares Vision Group - flat at EUR 4.99 - and Fine Foods & Pharmaceuticals - down 0.9% - announced a partnership that involves the continued implementation of solutions for both the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical divisions, with the aim of ensuring compliance with international traceability regulations.
Met.Extra closed the list with sales of over 11%. Trevi Finanziaria Industriale performed well with purchases of 8.8%.
Among SMEs, Talea Group received an administrative fine of EUR 2.0 million from the Italian Competition Authority for unfair practices.
Omer, up 2.7%, will fulfill a new order from the Alstom group to supply fairings for Avelia Stream high-speed trains, which Alstom will supply to a leading Italian operator.
RT&L, making its stock market debut, rose 28% to EUR2.30 per share.
Edil San Felice, up 2.4%, presented HERO – Humanoid for Enhanced Road Operations on Wednesday, the first humanoid robot patented specifically to operate safely on road construction sites. HERO was created with an initial investment of EUR600,000.
Predict announced on Wednesday that it had won a EUR65,570 order for the sale of two Mistral Sampler devices to the Interuniversity Department of Physics at the Polytechnic University of Bari. The stock recorded purchases of 4.2%.
In New York, the Dow Jones gained 0.4%, the Nasdaq lost 0.1%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.2%.
On the currency front, the euro traded at USD 1.1664 from USD 1.1606 at Tuesday's stock market close, while the pound traded at USD 1.334 from USD 1.3195 last night.
Among commodities, Brent crude traded at USD 63.05 per barrel from USD 63.28 per barrel at yesterday evening's close, while gold was worth USD 4,221.25 per ounce from USD 4,178.74 per ounce yesterday evening.
On Thursday's economic calendar, the Italian construction PMI index is expected at 0930 CET, followed by data from Germany, France, and the Eurozone.
UK new car registration data is expected at 1000 CET. At 1100 CET, Eurozone retail sales data is on the agenda.
From 1:30 p.m. CET to 2:30 p.m. CET, attention will focus on the US labor market with data on job cuts and unemployment.
On the Italian stock exchange, Netweek presents its half-year results.
By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter
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