Sluggish start to the month, Mib down with investigation into Risiko

(Alliance News) - European markets started December on a weak note, with major indices moving into negative territory after the Eurozone manufacturing sector weakened due to signs of renewed fragility in demand.

Job cuts intensified, with inventories falling at a faster rate. Although slower, there was an increase in production and business optimism about the future.

The Italian manufacturing sector recorded its strongest improvement in over two and a half years in November, driven mainly by a recovery in new orders and stronger foreign sales.

The FTSE Mib closed Monday down 0.2% at 43,259.48 points, the Mid-Cap lost 0.2% to 58,383.79, the Small-Cap fell 0.3% to 35,728.32, and the Italy Growth gained 0.2% to 8,458.61 points.

Other European markets were down: Paris' CAC 40 fell 0.2%, Frankfurt's DAX 40 fell 1.0%, and London's FTSE 100 fell 0.2%.

Chris Beauchamp of IG commented: "London held steady throughout the day thanks to its mining sector. A recovering metals complex helped support stocks such as Anglo American and Glencore, while new increases in gold and silver fueled renewed gains for Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining."

"The index's strong performance comes as European stocks come under renewed pressure, while continuing to beat the S&P 500 in year-to-date returns," the analyst concluded.

Returning to the Milan Stock Exchange, according to press reports, the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office alleges that between 2024 and 2025, Caltagirone and Delfin acted in coordination with MPS on Mediobanca and Generali, going beyond simple financial interest and without making their alleged "concerted action" transparent to the market, which would have required official communications and a takeover bid of more than 25%.

Prosecutors point to anomalies in the sale of 15% of MPS by the Treasury and various wiretaps: some show close relations between Caltagirone and MPS CEO Lovaglio; others indicate that Delfin directors at Mediobanca were essentially aligned with Caltagirone's expectations.

Monte dei Paschi di Siena shares closed down 2.9%, Mediobanca gained 0.1%, and Generali shares fell 1.0%.

Tenaris, fresh from a EUR79.0 million buyback, was the best daily performer, up 1.3%.

The European Investment Bank approved a new EUR 300 million loan to Prysmian - down 1.7% - to support its research and development activities in Europe for the four-year period 2025-2028, accelerating the adoption of new solutions aimed at promoting energy transition and digital transformation. Prysmian and the EIB announced the signing of the first tranche of EUR 200 million.

Leonardo was also down, by 2.6%. Campari was up 0.7%.

In the Mid-Cap segment, ERG - down 0.6% - reached, through its subsidiary Furukraft, an agreement to sign a 10-year Power Purchase Agreement with Skellefteå Kraft, a Swedish municipal energy company and one of the leading electricity producers in Sweden.

MAIRE, which approved a EUR127 million buyback, gained 0.4%.

Philogen fell 6.2% to EUR22.60 per share after Goldman downgraded it to 'neutral' from 'buy'.

Comer Industries posted the biggest gain, up 5.5% to EUR42.60 per share.

Among small caps, KME Group announced that its subsidiary KME had reached an agreement with the group's lenders to renew its existing bank loan for EUR465.5 million, available on a revolving basis and maturing on November 30, 2026, plus an option to extend for a further year subject to the consent of the lenders involved in the transaction. The stock was down 2.9% to EUR0.864 per share.

The board of directors of Borgosesia, up 0.4%, announced on Friday the issue of a new structured bond for a maximum amount of EUR 50 million.

The new bond will be collateralized by securities issued by a newco against the transfer of the group's real estate assets in excess of those to be transferred to Euclide.

Eurotech announced that it had completed its 70,000 share buyback plan. The stock closed down 2.0%.

Purchases of 4.1% on OPS eCom. GDL formalized its commitment to convert EUR 2.02 million in receivables into new shares of the company through a reserved capital increase paid up by way of compensation. The issue price will be determined according to the mechanisms provided for in the agreement, which remains subject to the definition of certain pending legal procedures.

Among SMEs, Talea Group - not affected by trading - was fined EUR 2.0 million by the Antitrust Authority for unfair commercial practices. The accusation was that it had published misleading statements about product availability and delivery times, made partial or late deliveries, and delayed refunds following order withdrawals or cancellations.

At Cloudia Research, Chief Financial Officer Daniele Antonaci resigned effective November 27 for personal reasons. The stock fell 1.8%.

Cyberoo - flat at EUR1.375 per share - announced that Keatrix, the evolutionary training platform that uses adaptive artificial intelligence to redesign security awareness, is officially available.

Allcore - down 0.4% - announced on Friday that it is continuing the expansion of Allcore Professional Network (APN), the channel dedicated to tax and labor consultants outside the group.

Launched this year, APN allows firms to access Allcore's specialist services, from tax planning to corporate finance, from management consulting to artificial intelligence solutions.

Purchases on SolidWorld Group for 28% at EUR0.722 per share.

On Monday, the Milan Stock Exchange saw the listing of Kaleon, which also debuted on Euronext Growth Paris. Kaleon's listing is Euronext's 64th listing this year. During the placement phase, Kaleon raised EUR18.0 million—of which EUR1.5 million came from the greenshoe option—and the free float at the time of admission is 29.2%, or 31.9% assuming full exercise of the greenshoe option, with a market capitalization at IPO of EUR56.5 million.

Kaleon's stock rose 9.1% to EUR4.364 per share on its first day of trading.

In New York, the Dow Jones fell 0.5%, the Nasdaq fell 0.5%, and the S&P 500 fell 0.3%.

On the currency front, the euro traded at USD1.1625 from USD1.1597 at Friday's stock market close, while the pound traded at USD1.328 from USD1.3248 on Friday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD 63.298 per barrel, up from USD 63.00 per barrel at Friday's close, while gold is trading at USD 4,252.58 per ounce, up from USD 4,236.81 per ounce on Friday evening.

On Tuesday's economic calendar, the BRC retail sales index for the UK is expected at 0101 CET. At 0200 CET, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will speak.

At 0800 CET, the focus will be on the UK housing market, and at 1000 CET, Italy's monthly unemployment rate is due to be released.

Attention shifts to the Eurozone at 1100 CET, when the consumer price index and unemployment rate will be analyzed, while at 1200 CET, Italy will release its producer price index data.

At 1800 CET, Italian car registration data will be released.

On the Italian stock exchange, Emma Villas' results are expected.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter

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