(Alliance News) - On Friday, European stock markets opened in negative territory, with Milan's Piazza Affari down around the 45,700-point mark.

On the macroeconomic front, German consumer price inflation slowed in December, as confirmed Friday by data released by the Federal Statistical Office.

The annual consumer price index fell to 1.8% in December from 2.3% in November, while on a harmonized basis—allowing for EU-wide comparison—annual inflation slowed to 2.0% in December from 2.6% in November.

Later in the morning, Italian inflation data is expected.

In commodities, spot gold is moving towards the USD4,600 per ounce mark, while Brent crude is retracing slightly below USD64 per barrel.

Thus, the FTSE Mib is down 0.2% at 45,774.57, the Mid-Cap is up 0.1% at 61,316.98, the Small-Cap is down 0.2% at 37,996.74, while the Italy Growth index is advancing 0.1% at 8,881.20.

London's FTSE 100 is down 0.2%, Paris's CAC 40 is fractionally in the red, as is Frankfurt's DAX 40.

Back in Milan, on the main blue-chip list of Piazza Affari, DiaSorin topped the opening, up 1.8%.

Leonardo also performed well, up 1.5% with over 300,000 shares changing hands.

Fincantieri showed strength as well, advancing 1.4% to EUR19.47 per share.

Prysmian rose 0.9% to EUR94.50. Supporting the stock were positive analyst revisions, with Goldman raising its target price to EUR105.00 from EUR102.00, and Citigroup revising its target to EUR102.00 from EUR91.00. According to both banks, the group is expected to deliver a performance broadly in line with expectations in the fourth quarter, with the upper end of guidance seen as achievable.

The new Ferrari shareholder pact, covering 32% of capital, redefines the balance between Exor and Piero Ferrari, according to Il Sole 24 Ore. The agreement grants the founder's son significant flexibility, allowing him to sell up to 5% at any time and to exit the three-year deal early, a right not granted to Exor. Ferrari shares slipped 0.6%.

Italgas—up 0.6%—is accelerating on biomethane with the connection to the grid of a new plant in Porto Tolle, in the Rovigo area, capable of injecting 2.2 million cubic meters of biomethane annually, enough energy for about 2,400 households, according to Il Messaggero.

2026 will be a decisive year for Stellantis, which is down 1.1%, as it seeks to turn strategy into concrete results, reviving the US market with more accessible prices, a focus on Jeep and Ram, and a more pragmatic approach to the electric transition, according to CEO Antonio Filosa at the Detroit Auto Show.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena—down 2.4%—announced it has successfully placed a European Covered Bond—Premium—of the Conditional Pass Through type maturing January 22, 2030, aimed at institutional investors, for a total amount of EUR750 million.

Among the decliners is Mediobanca, down 2.0% at the start of trading.

Brunello Cucinelli was the worst performer on the main list, down 2.8% to EUR89.96, after BofA downgraded the stock to 'neutral' from 'buy' and cut the target price to EUR100.00 from EUR115.00.

On the Mid-Cap, Avio and Sanlorenzo led the gains, up 1.9% and 1.8% respectively.

Arnoldo Mondadori Editore—down 0.2%—announced Thursday an agreement to acquire 58.84% of Edilportale.com for EUR31.2 million, based on an enterprise value of EUR50 million and an estimated average positive net financial position of EUR3 million at closing.

BFF Bank opened up 0.1% at EUR8.32, after closing Thursday with a red candlestick of more than 14%. The stock was weighed down by Kepler Cheuvreux analysts, who issued a double downgrade, cutting the recommendation to 'hold' from 'buy' and slashing the target price to EUR10.30 from EUR12.50. The bank was also removed from the selected list of European mid caps.

MAIRE—up 1.2%—announced it had bought back 601,289 of its own ordinary shares between January 9 and 15. The shares were purchased at an average unit price of EUR13.285, for a total value of nearly EUR8 million.

At the bottom of the secondary list, PharmaNutra fell 1.2%.

On the Small-Cap, Zest outperformed at the open, advancing 2.8%.

On the other side of the basket, EPH dropped 4.8%.

At Piazza Affari, the banking M&A race continues, with Banca Cf+'s OPAS for Banca Sistema—down 0.9%—kicking off January 26; subscriptions will be open until February 27, and main shareholder Gianluca Garbi, with 23.6%, has already announced his intention to participate.

Generalfinance—up 0.4%—announced Thursday it had successfully completed the private placement of additional unsecured bonds for a total amount of EUR20 million, reserved exclusively for qualified investors.

Among SMEs, Casta Diva led in terms of traded value, up 2.8%, marking its sixth consecutive session of gains.

Haiki+—up 1.8%—announced that IGERS, in which it holds a 24.5% stake and which is active in textile waste recycling, has received authorization to build a new textile recycling plant.

The board of directors of Metriks AI—not traded—has approved the issue of a non-convertible bond loan of EUR1.8 million, aimed at supporting its external growth strategy through bolt-on M&A transactions.

Next Geosolutions Europe—up 1.1%—announced that, through Rana Subsea, it has signed a letter of intent with Saipem—down 1.4% on the Mib—for SAT diving services in the Middle East, with a start in the second quarter, a 36-month duration, and a base value of about USD150 million.

Estrima was among the laggards on the alternative list, down 4.2%.

e-Novia—flat at EUR2.00—announced it received Thursday commitments from some shareholders, already subscribers of the previous 2025-2028 convertible bond, collectively holding 22.03% of the share capital, to support the third financial maneuver by subscribing to the e-Novia 2026-2028 Convertible Bond for a total amount of EUR1.1 million.

In Asia, the Nikkei closed down 0.3% at 53,936.17, the Shanghai Composite lost 0.3% at 4,101.91, and the Hang Seng fell 0.3% to 26,844.96.

In New York, the Dow Jones closed Thursday up 0.6% at 49,442.44, the Nasdaq gained 0.3% at 23,530.02, and the S&P 500 rose 0.3%.

In currencies, the euro is trading at USD1.1611 from USD1.610 at Thursday’s close in Europe, while the pound is at USD1.3390 from USD1.3391 last night.

Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD63.77 per barrel from USD63.60 per barrel yesterday, while gold is worth USD4,606.34 per ounce from USD4,612.87 per ounce Thursday evening.

On Friday’s economic calendar, Italian inflation is due at 1000 CET.

At 1100 CET in the UK, BoE’s Bailey is scheduled to speak. Focus will be on US industrial production at 1515 CET, while Baker Hughes rig count data is due at 1900 CET.

At Piazza Affari, results from Saccheria F.lli Franceschetti are expected.

By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News reporter

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