Weak European Markets, Mib Closes in the Red with TIM

(Alliance News) - On Monday, during the penultimate session of the year, European markets ended trading in a mixed fashion.

The Mib was weighed down by defense stocks, which suffered due to the progress in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, with negotiations that President Donald Trump described as being at an advanced stage.

As a result, the Mib ended the session down 0.4% at 44,436.01, the Mid-Cap closed up 0.3% at 58,690.21, the Small-Cap rose 0.7% to 36,645.22, and Italy Growth increased 0.2% to 8,540.19.

Across Europe, the CAC 40 and DAX 40 each gained 0.1%, while the FTSE 100 declined by 0.1%.

On Piazza Affari, Banca Popolare di Sondrio – down 0.6% – announced it had signed an agreement with Nexi – up 1.7% – for the sale of its merchant acquiring business unit.

According to the press release, the transaction also includes the sale to Nexi of the minority stake currently held by BPSO in Nexi Payments.

Azimut Holding extended its exclusive binding agreement with FSI SGR Spa regarding the TNB project. The agreement, originally set to expire on December 28, 2025, has been extended to June 20, 2026, with the option for a further extension to December 20, 2026. The stock closed down 0.7%.

DiaSorin received 510(k) authorization and CLIA-waiver from the United States Food and Drug Administration for its first test, the FLU A/B, RSV & COVID-19 panel, to be used on the LIAISON NES platform. The stock finished at the top of the basket with a 3.0% gain at EUR68.62.

Prysmian – down 0.2% – and Fincantieri – down 1.7% – signed an agreement to acquire Xtera Topco Limited, a company based in the UK and USA and a leader in turnkey submarine telecommunications systems, enabling Prysmian to become a competitive global player in the sector.

Intesa Sanpaolo, down 0.6%, announced that from January 1, 2026, the responsibility for the Chief Compliance Officer Governance Area will be assigned to Francesca Nieddu, while Mauro Senati will be responsible for the Chief Risk Officer Governance Area.

Additionally, the company announced it had strengthened its commitment to research and technology transfer by supporting Novac, a Modena-based startup innovating the energy storage market.

Leonardo trailed with a 2.0% drop to EUR48.48 per share, together with Telecom Italia, which fell 2.2% to EUR0.5056.

On the Mid-Cap, MAIRE – down 0.4% – announced that NextChem had signed a binding agreement to acquire the entire share capital of the Ballestra group, a leading global player in licensing, design and engineering of processing plants, as well as the supply of proprietary technologies and equipment for the chemical industry.

The agreement sets the enterprise value at EUR108.3 million.

Mondadori, up 1.0%, reported that Arnoldo Mondadori Editore had signed a contract to acquire 59% of Edilportale.com – a company active internationally in the development of content, services and platforms in the architecture, design, and construction markets – for EUR31.2 million.

d'Amico International Shipping, up 0.9%, signed a construction contract with Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Limited, a Chinese company, for the purchase of two new 'Medium Range 1' – MR1 – tankers of 40,000 deadweight tons each, at a price of USD43.2 million apiece.

CIR announced that between December 22 and 23, it had bought back 175,000 of its own ordinary shares at an average price of EUR0.7053 each, for a total value of EUR123,427.50. The stock was down 0.7%.

Webuild closed the session with losses of 3.9% at EUR3.352 per share, while Sesa posted a strong performance with a 3.6% rise, and MFE was in the green by 3.2% and 3.5% for class A and class B shares, respectively.

On the Small-Cap, OPS eCom reported a net loss of EUR1.231 million in the six months, slightly widening from the loss of EUR1.156 million in the first half of 2024. The stock closed down 4.2%.

TXT e-solutions, down 2.6%, signed an Asset Purchase Agreement to acquire the SmartRoutes division of Nexteon Technologies Inc, thus strengthening its presence in the USA through its subsidiary PACE America.

Mare Group and Borgosesia – down 1.4% – announced Monday the launch of EasyGo Srl, a search fund dedicated to the acquisition and relaunch of Italian SMEs with solid industrial foundations, engaged in phases of discontinuity such as generational transitions.

Aeffe traded up in double digits, rising 17% to EUR0.292 per share. Fidia trailed the basket with a 5.5% drop to EUR0.1472 per share.

Among SMEs, Circle announced the signing of a new contract with a leading operator in the Mediterranean intermodal logistics sector, worth a total of about EUR260,000, relating to the supply of solutions from the Milos ecosystem. The stock closed up 2.0%.

Health Italia appointed a new board of directors, consisting of seven members, with Stefano Pellegrino chosen as chairman. The other board members are: Giovanni Giuliani, Mario Fera, Roberto Ippolito, Giorgio Ortolani, Matteo Almini, and Daniele Sotgiu. The stock ended flat at EUR296.0 per share.

For Mare Group – up 0.5% – the delisting of Eles – up 7.5% – is not among the objectives of the strategic plan and, in fact, the company explained in a note, "the presence of both companies on Euronext Growth Milan constitutes a potential value."

Leone Film Group, up 0.7%, completed the demerger of a business unit and the establishment of LV Legacy Media.

In New York, the Dow is down 0.5% while the Nasdaq is falling 0.6% and the S&P 500 is down 0.4%.

On the currency front, the euro trades at USD1.1754 from USD1.1772 in the previous session, while the pound trades at USD1.3489 from USD1.3500.

Among commodities, Brent trades at USD61.95 a barrel from USD60.24 in the previous session, while gold is valued at USD4,335.25 an ounce from USD4,552.70.

On Tuesday's economic calendar, at 0900 CET focus will be on the Spanish economy with the consumer price index and retail sales, while at 1200 CET the Eurozone's total asset reserves will be released.

At 1500 CET, in the USA, attention will turn to housing price data, and at 2000 CET the much-anticipated minutes from the latest FOMC meeting will be published.

No significant announcements are expected from companies on Piazza Affari.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter

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