Telecom Leads the Mib, Green Light for European Markets

(Alliance News) - On Tuesday, the main European stock exchanges stood out for their buying activity, in a context where US macro data triggered a downward trend for the euro and US markets opened mixed.

Domestically, Italy's trade surplus with foreign countries widened in December and throughout 2025: exports rose by 0.3% month-on-month in December after a 0.4% increase in November, while on an annual basis, December's 4.9% rise followed a 0.1% drop the previous month.

Imports, on the other hand, rose by 0.1% month-on-month in December after falling by 3.2% in November and increased by 3.4% year-on-year after a 3.5% decrease in November.

The Mib closed up 0.8% at 45,764.07 points, the Mid-Cap was down 0.1% at 59,157.32, the Small-Cap gained 0.1% at 35,719.38, and Italy Growth slipped 0.4% to 8,693.89 points.

Other markets were positive: the CAC 40 rose 0.5%, the DAX 40 climbed 0.8% as did the FTSE 100.

According to Axel Rudolph of IG, "Gold, silver, and copper prices fell on Tuesday as the US dollar hit a one-week high and nuclear talks between Iran and the US continued."

"Oil prices declined, but the drop was sharper for US natural gas, which posted its steepest fall in four months, down about 6%," the analyst noted.

On Piazza Affari, Iveco Group, up 0.8%, announced Tuesday that Empresa Casal has expanded its fleet for the Seville metropolitan area with 17 new Iveco Bus vehicles, thus strengthening the local public transport service.

Saipem – fractionally down at EUR3.387 – reached an agreement with Deep Value Driller on the main terms and conditions for the acquisition of a seventh-generation drillship, for a consideration of USD272.5 million.

2026 opened with a 4.1% increase in national electricity demand compared to January 2025: with 28 billion kWh consumed, this is the highest monthly level since 2014. This was revealed in data released Tuesday by Terna, which closed up 0.9%.

Monte dei Paschi di Siena gained 2.1%. The bank is focusing on international profiles for the new board to be elected on April 15. In the newly approved guidelines, the board highlights the need to value international experience and outlook.

Stellantis continued to decline, down 1.1%, as the company faces a potential new class action in the US following the stock market collapse after the EUR22 billion writedown related to electric vehicles.

Law firm Levi & Korsinsky has launched an investigation to verify possible violations of federal securities laws, paving the way for collective actions.

DiaSorin saw marked selling, down 6.7% to EUR66.94 per share, while Telecom Italia stood out at the top with a 3.1% gain and Nexi rose 2.4%.

On the Mid-Cap, ERG – up 4.9% – is exploring industrial alliances in renewables. According to press rumors, the group controlled by the Garrone family is considering extraordinary operations that could lead to a shareholding reorganization.

Among possible interested parties are A2A, down 0.2% today, Switzerland's Axpo, and some funds, although the most likely scenario in the market remains a merger with an industrial partner.

UBS maintains a 'neutral' recommendation on Interpump Group – down 0.8% – with a target price of EUR43.10, compared to a February 13 close at EUR41.50. The rating follows a very negative market reaction, with the stock down about 20% after results.

BFF Bank fell 12% to EUR3.386 per share. After Bankitalia, Milan prosecutors are also investigating the bank for alleged accounting fraud.

The case is said to have been opened in the second half of 2024, after an inspection in which the central bank challenged the institution's accounting policies, particularly regarding the classification of receivables from the public administration.

MARR also performed well, up 4.0% to EUR9.53 per share.

On the Small-Cap, the Banca Sistema issue took center stage, up 0.2% to EUR1.644 per share. "The OPAS price by CF+ on Banca Sistema is too low." So says Tico Capital Management – TCM, a shareholder with over 1%, in a letter sent to Consob against the EUR144 million offer launched by the challenger bank controlled by Elliott.

Kepler Cheuvreux keeps EuroGroup Laminations – still down 6.5% and at its 52-week low – under review after the company announced the collapse of the deal announced last summer between EMS Euro Management Services, EuroGroup Laminations' main shareholder, and Ferrum Investment, a vehicle controlled by funds managed by FountainVest.

Aedes fell 9.2%. Best buys, on the other hand, were on Borgosesia, which jumped 19% to EUR0.704 per share, after the takeover bid by Alba, which will pay EUR0.710 for each tendered share for a maximum of EUR33.9 million.

Intesa Sanpaolo confirms its 'neutral' recommendation on Elica – down 2.2% – with a new target price of EUR1.70 from EUR1.80 in light of concerns about continued weak demand in an over-capacity scenario and uncertainty in the DIY channel and among OEMs in the US.

Among SMEs, Mare Group – flat at EUR3.68 – recorded EUR7 million in orders since the beginning of the year, a notable increase compared to the same period last year. Growth is particularly linked to the Industry & Transportation and Aerospace & Defense sectors.

Intesa Sanpaolo confirms its 'buy' recommendation on EdiliziAcrobatica – flat at EUR5.22 – and raises the target price to EUR8.20 from EUR7.80, in light of "foreign expansion" and "support for the evolution of the offering for fiscal year 2025 revenue."

Kaleon, up 1.6%, approved its accounts as of December 31, 2025, showing consolidated revenues of EUR23.2 million, up 7% from EUR21.7 million as of December 31, 2024, a rise of about EUR1.5 million mainly driven by the Ticketing and F&B lines.

gAIn360 increased the number of board members to 9 from 7 and appointed two new directors, Leonardo Castaldi and Michele Zanioli. The stock closed flat at EUR1.47 per share.

Leone Film Group closed the year with revenues of EUR45.1 million, up 5.0% from EUR43.1 million in 2024. Ebitda stood at EUR31.1 million, essentially stable compared to EUR31.0 million the previous year. The stock was down 2.3%.

In the US, the Dow Jones is up 0.1% as is the S&P500, while the Nasdaq is down 0.1%.

On the currency front, the euro changes hands at USD1.1828 from USD1.1854 at Monday's close of European stock markets, while the pound trades at USD1.3528 from USD1.3628 on Monday evening.

Among commodities, Brent trades at USD67.11 a barrel from USD68.50 a barrel Monday evening, while gold is worth USD4,877.13 an ounce from USD4,985.15 an ounce yesterday evening.

On Wednesday's economic calendar, at 0800 CET focus will be on the UK consumer price index, and at 0845 CET the same data will be published in France.

At 1300 CET in the US, attention turns to mortgage data, while the industrial production report is scheduled for 1515 CET. At 2230 CET, the estimate on weekly oil inventories is due.

On Piazza Affari, results are expected from Casta Diva and Brunello Cucinelli.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter

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