Mixed Markets: Mib Down with Stellantis

(Alliance News) - On the day of the European Central Bank meeting, Thursday, with monetary policy set to remain unchanged and to be assessed "step-by-step" by Christine Lagarde, European markets are moving in mixed directions.

The Mib is down 0.2% at 46,565.66 points, the Mid-Cap is up 0.4% at 60,261.19, the Small-Cap is positive by 0.1% at 36,755.00, and the Italy Growth index is rising 0.4% at 8,760.45 points.

Across Europe, the CAC 40 is up 0.3%, the DAX 40 is marginally in the green, and the FTSE 100 is down 0.4%.

In Milan, BPER is up 3.0% at EUR12.69 per share after announcing it closed 2025 with consolidated net profit of EUR1.88 billion, up from EUR1.44 billion in 2024. At the same time, the board has proposed total dividends of EUR1.37 billion, a 60% annual increase, including the interim dividend distributed in November 2025, with a payout ratio of 75%.

As a result, Banca Popolare di Sondrio is up 2.0% at EUR18.26 per share.

STMicroelectronics is among the top performers in the blue-chip basket, up 2.1% at EUR24.845 per share.

In the banking sector, the hypothesis of another term for Lovaglio as CEO of MPS is gaining ground, with shares up 1.7% following statutory changes that still require approval from the ECB.

Amplifon — up 0.5% — announced that Standard Ethics has raised its corporate standard ethics rating to 'EE-' from the previous 'E+', with a Positive outlook.

The Ravenna CCS project by Eni — down 0.7% — and Snam — in the red by 0.6% — for CO2 capture and storage is progressing. On February 2, the Ministry of Environment gave environmental approval for the Ferrara-Casalborsetti and Ravenna-Casalborsetti pipelines, a key link in the CCS Pianura Padana transport network.

The conversion of Telecom Italia's savings shares — down 0.5% — promises to be advantageous for many investors. Following the shareholders' meeting approval, the voluntary subscription period will begin in the coming weeks: for each RNC delivered, investors will receive one ordinary share and EUR0.12 in cash, compared to just EUR0.04 under mandatory conversion.

The CEOs of Volkswagen and Stellantis, Oliver Blume and Antonio Filosa, are proposing a Made in Europe label for electric cars produced in the EU, tied to purchase incentives and CO2 bonuses extendable to the entire fleet. Shares of the automaker, born from the merger of PSA and FCA, are down 0.8%.

The basket is closed out by utilities, with Inwit and Hera both down 1.0%.

On the Mid-Cap, OVS closed 2025 with sales up about 7% and estimated Ebitda between EUR216 million and EUR218 million, up 11% on the previous year.

This result was supported by solid commercial margins despite inflationary cost pressures, and by strong cash generation, up over 20%, thanks also to effective working capital management. Shares are up 4.0% at EUR5.0 per share. The company also announced it will not proceed with the acquisition of Kasanova.

Lane, the US subsidiary of the Webuild group, up 1.6%, has secured a USD389 million contract — about EUR336 million — for the design and construction of the widening and modernization works on Interstate 64 in Norfolk, Virginia, USA.

Anima Holding — up 2.4% — closed 2025 with solid results, supported by positive inflows, increased assets under management, and improving profitability.

Acea is down 1.6% at EUR23.76 per share.

On the Small-Cap, Aeffe is performing positively, up 4.0% at EUR0.2765 per share.

Seco, up 2.5%, released preliminary consolidated data as of December 31, 2025, reporting revenues of EUR197.6 million, up 7.7% from EUR183.5 million in the previous year.

Bastogi, which soared to the top with a 23% gain to EUR0.964 per share on the eve of the announcement regarding the sale of the entire share capital of Forumnet Holding to the international group Live Nation, is now down 3.7% at EUR0.928 per share after the deal, which brought in net proceeds of EUR62 million, well above expectations.

Following the approval of its strategic plan — with 2030 revenues expected to be between EUR360 million and EUR365 million, adjusted Ebitda between EUR100 million and EUR105 million, net financial position at EUR44 million, and an investment plan of EUR210 million — Italia Exhibition Group closes the basket with a drop of 2.8% at EUR10.40 per share.

Tesmec is doing well, with purchases up 3.6%.

Among SMEs, FAE Technology has secured orders worth a total of EUR6.0 million related to a telecommunications sector contract. The total economic impact of the orders, worth about EUR11 million, will be reflected during the year, further strengthening the group's order book.

Confinvest, with no trades, has completed the reverse take-over operation that enabled it to acquire Dierre's business unit after the fulfillment of the conditions precedent set out in the preliminary agreement.

The "reverse take-over" operation represents a significant step in the company's external growth strategy and allows Confinvest to "strengthen its position in the physical investment gold sector." The company has committed to purchase the business unit for a minimum price of EUR7.0 million and a maximum of just under EUR7.3 million.

Pattern closed 2025 with revenues of EUR115.4 million, down from EUR125.8 million the previous year. The Ebitda margin is expected to exceed 5%, in line with September 30 and a marked improvement over June 30, thanks to positive volume effects, greater production efficiency, and ongoing industrial streamlining. The stock is down 1.6%.

Cyberoo — down 1.8% — and Cometa have announced the signing of a strategic distribution agreement aimed at significantly boosting the presence of Cyberoo solutions in the Italian market.

Double-digit gains for Giocamondo Study, which is up 20% at EUR1.90 per share.

In New York, at Wednesday's close, the Dow Jones gained 0.5% to 49,501 points, the S&P 500 slipped 0.5% to 6,883 points, while the Nasdaq dropped 1.8% to 24,891 points.

In Asia, on Thursday, the Nikkei closed down 0.7% at 53,895.50 points, the Shanghai Composite lost 0.6% to 4,076 points, and the Hang Seng rose 0.1% to 28,861.71 points.

On the currency front, the euro trades at USD1.1803 from USD1.1798 at Wednesday's European equity close, while the pound trades at USD1.3622 from USD1.3653 last night.

Among commodities, Brent trades at USD68.43 per barrel from USD67.46 per barrel on Wednesday, while gold is worth USD4,923.12 an ounce from USD4,917.87 an ounce last night.

Thursday's macroeconomic calendar includes, at 1000 CET, Italy's retail sales data, while Eurozone figures will be released an hour later.

The highlight of the day is central banks: the Bank of England's rate decision is due at 1300 CET, while the European Central Bank's is expected at 1415 CET, half an hour before President Christine Lagarde's press conference.

Apart from weekly jobless claims at 1430 CET and the Federal Reserve's balance sheet, due at 2230 CET, the US macro calendar contains no other significant data.

Among the companies on Piazza Affari, results are expected from Banco BPM, Credito Emiliano, Enel, FinecoBank, Generalfinance, Kruso Kapital, and Piquadro.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News reporter

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