Stock markets in the red; utilities gain on MIB, Avio retreats

(Alliance News) - Trump's speech regarding the conflict in Iran is weighing on European markets, which continue to trade in negative territory at the midday mark on Thursday.

On the domestic front, retail sales in Italy remained flat compared to January, when they had recorded a 0.6% increase. The figure came in below market estimates of 0.4% cited by FXStreet.

Food goods recorded a 0.4% decline, while non-food goods saw a slight increase of 0.2%.

On an annual basis, retail sales showed a recovery, growing by 1.6% compared to February 2025, following the 2.5% drop recorded in January (revised from a previous 2.3% decline).

The MIB continues to trade down 1.3% at 45,118.30 points, the Mid-Cap is down 1.1% at 54,308.44, the Small-Cap is down 0.5% at 32,974.64, and Italy Growth is down 0.3% at 8,347.99 points.

Other European exchanges are also in the red: the Paris CAC 40 is down 0.2%, the Frankfurt DAX 40 is down 1.8%, and the London FTSE 100 is down 0.2%.

At Piazza Affari, Luigi Lovaglio stated he is "confident" of being confirmed as CEO of Monte dei Paschi di Siena - currently down 2.5% - banking on achieved results and the EUR16 billion in dividends projected over five years. Despite being excluded from the board's list and stripped of his powers, the banker is running with the list submitted by the Tortora family's Plt Holding.

UniCredit - down 3.3% - announced that it broadly complies with the minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities set by resolution authorities, following the decision of the Single Resolution Board and the communication received from the Bank of Italy.

Intesa Sanpaolo, down 2.4%, announced that its IMI Corporate & Investment Banking division participated, alongside a pool of international banks, in a financing of approximately USD290 million for a battery energy storage project located in Boulder City, Nevada.

Eni is up 3.8% at EUR24.57 per share, having signed a new EUR500 million, 15-year loan with the European Investment Bank for the conversion of several units at the Eni refinery in Sannazzaro de' Burgondi, in the province of Pavia, into a biorefinery.

Utilities are also performing well at the top of the basket, with A2A gaining 0.7%, Snam 1.1%, Terna 0.5%, and Italgas 0.6%.

Stellantis is also in positive territory, up 2.4% after renewing its partnership with Palantir for five years. The partnership, active since 2016, will extend the use of the Foundry platform and introduce the new AIP. Tenaris is also up 2.0%.

Other significant declines were recorded for Avio and STMicroelectronics, down 4.0% and 3.8% respectively.

On the Mid-Cap, Italmobiliare is down 1.5% as it renews its governance and bylaws to target an international scale. The Pesenti family's holding company is proposing a shift to a one-tier model, abolishing the board of statutory auditors in favor of an internal control committee within the board of directors.

MAIRE announced that Nextchem, through its subsidiary KT Tech, has been awarded a contract for preliminary engineering activities and the supply of proprietary equipment for a SAF plant under development in North Sumatra province, Indonesia. The stock continues to trade down 1.1%.

BFF Bank fell 6.0% to EUR1.501 per share after Moody's downgraded all ratings and assessments by one notch, placing them under review for a possible further downgrade, including the adjusted BCA.

Carel Industries, among the few gainers of the day, rose 3.0% to EUR23.60 per share, while Alerion leads the basket with a 7.3% gain to EUR22.15 per share.

On the Small-Cap, Jacopo De Francisco, CEO of CF+, outlined the future to Milano Finanza on Thursday following the acquisition of 80.75% of Banca Sistema, which is down 0.5%: "We are approaching the merger in the best possible way. We closed 2025 with a profit of EUR24 million and brought equity to EUR177 million, which we will further strengthen with a capital increase in May."

Biesse, down 3.1%, announced that Pierre La Tour has resigned from his positions as Chief Financial Officer, Manager in charge of preparing corporate accounting documents, and Investor Relator, to pursue a new professional path.

TXT e-Solutions informed that the investment agreement for the acquisition of 100% of the share capital of FasThink has been signed. The stock is up 0.5%. FasThink's results will be consolidated into TXT's Smart Solutions division starting April 1, 2026.

Caltagirone Edizioni gained 6.8% to EUR1.880 per share, while Zucchi is flat at EUR0.608 per share.

Among SMEs, Casta Diva Group - up 5.3% - announced that the board has resolved to grant an exploratory mandate to a leading advisor, DC Advisory, with the aim of identifying potential strategic partners suitable to support the company in its growth path.

SolidWorld announced that it closed the 2025 financial year with a loss widening to EUR2.7 million from EUR1.8 million recorded as of December 31, 2024. Sales revenues were EUR57.5 million, substantially stable compared to EUR57.8 million in the previous year. The stock is currently untraded.

The board of Tecno approved the accounts, which show a net profit of EUR800,000, a decrease compared to the EUR1.1 million recorded in the 2024 pro-forma.

The value of production stands at EUR32.2 million, up 22% compared to EUR26.4 million in the 2024 pro-forma. The stock is up 2.4% at EUR3.05 per share.

In New York, during the European evening, the Dow Jones closed up 0.5% at 46,565.74 points, the Nasdaq gained 1.2% to 21,804.95, and the S&P 500 closed in the green by 0.7% at 6,575.32.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1529 from USD1.1610 yesterday evening, while the pound is trading at USD1.3204 from USD1.3324 on Wednesday evening.

Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD109.10 per barrel from USD101.87 per barrel yesterday evening, while gold is worth USD4,622.23 per ounce from USD4,784.85 per ounce yesterday evening.

On Thursday's macroeconomic calendar, car registrations in Italy will be released at 1345 CEST.

In the afternoon, at 1430 CEST in the US, initial jobless claims are scheduled along with the trade balance.

At 1700 CEST in the US, a speech by the Federal Reserve's Logan is expected, while the day concludes at 1900 CEST, also in the US, with the rig count data published by Baker Hughes.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News reporter

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