(Alliance News) - European stock markets are expected to open slightly lower on Friday, according to futures markets, as investors weigh global trade developments and await the release of key US labor market data.

Sentiment remains cautious following a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, during which the two leaders agreed to resume trade negotiations. However, the lack of concrete progress has left markets in a state of uncertainty.

The European Central Bank cut rates by 25 basis points on Thursday and revised its inflation forecasts downward for 2025 and 2026, further reinforcing its shift toward a more accommodative monetary policy stance.

As a result, the FTSE Mib--after closing up 0.7% at 40,379.29 points last night--is showing a loss of 27.50 points in early indications.

Among the smaller indices, last night the Mid-Cap gained 0.9% to 54,937.56, the Small-Cap rose 0.3% to 31,614.37, while Italy Growth slipped 0.1% to 8,078.31.

Across Europe, London's FTSE 100 is down 4.60 points, Frankfurt's DAX 40 is off 32.60 points, and Paris' CAC 40 is down 12.50 points.

Back in Milan, on the main blue-chip list, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena led the pack last night, up 3.2%.

Buzzi and Banca Popolare di Sondrio also posted gains, up 2.9% and 3.0% respectively.

BPER Banca advanced 2.3%. On Wednesday, the bank announced it had received approval from Consob for the offer document regarding its voluntary Public Exchange Offer for all ordinary shares of Banca Popolare di Sondrio.

For each share tendered in the offer, BPER Banca will provide newly issued own shares at a ratio of 1.45 ordinary shares for each Popolare di Sondrio share. The new shares will have no nominal value, will carry regular rights, and will have the same characteristics as those already listed.

In further banking sector moves, UniCredit gained 2.2% after confirming that the European Commission will not launch an in-depth investigation into its attempted acquisition of Banco BPM, which itself rose 2.1%.

This means the deal will be authorized under the EU Regulation on foreign subsidies. UniCredit announced a EUR10.1 billion offer in November.

Poste Italiane--up 0.6%--announced that today it will launch the fourth tranche of its share buyback program.

During the first tranche, the company bought back 1.2 million shares; in the second, it acquired 710,800 shares; while in the third tranche, it purchased 688,942 shares.

For the fourth tranche, no more than 933,589 shares--equivalent to 0.1% of its share capital--may be repurchased, for a total outlay of EUR22.3 million.

Among the laggards were Campari, Moncler, and Brunello Cucinelli, down between 4.7% and 2.7%. Italgas also slipped, losing 1.5%.

Among mid-caps, after the banks, Italian utilities are also entering a phase of greater competition, prompting operators to expand their customer base or integrate the supply chain.

This is the case for Eni's Plenitude, which has submitted a binding offer to acquire the entire share capital of Acea Energia, the retail arm of Acea, with about 1.4 million customers.

The deal, estimated at around EUR600 million, will be reviewed by Acea's board next week, with a possible closing in 2026, when the protected market will disappear entirely.

Acea closed down 0.9%, while Eni on the Mib gained 0.2%.

Fincantieri closed up 5.4%. On Tuesday, the company announced that its Norwegian subsidiary Vard had delivered two of the world's first vessels with cyber notation.

These are the two Commissioning Service Operation Vessels "Grampian Kestrel" and "Purus Chinook," built for North Star and Purus, respectively, as the company explained in a statement.

On the Small-Cap list, Immsi dropped 3.4%. On Wednesday, the company said its subsidiary Intermarine had signed a framework agreement with the Naval Armaments Directorate of the Ministry of Defence, worth a total of EUR60.0 million over four years.

The agreement covers maintaining the operational capabilities of the Italian Navy's minesweeper fleet, ahead of the entry into service, from 2029, of new advanced-generation units.

Banca Profilo slipped 0.3% after announcing that its new board of directors, which took office in recent days, had reached an agreement with Fabio Candeli.

The deal calls for Candeli to continue as general manager with full management powers and for his employment contract to end by mutual agreement, except in certain early termination scenarios, at the end of the current year, with compensation in line with prevailing remuneration policies.

Among the gainers, Fiera Milano--up 5.2%--announced Wednesday it had launched its buyback program of up to EUR1.2 million.

Under the plan, which will run for a maximum of 18 months, the company may repurchase no more than 200,000 ordinary shares.

Among SMEs, Execus fell 1.5% after announcing the subscription of 750,000 new ordinary shares from the reserved capital increase approved at the end of May, for a total value of EUR960,000, or 96% of the maximum amount of EUR1 million.

The new shares, issued at EUR1.28 each, are intended to support the group's growth plans and will have the same characteristics as those already in circulation. The final subscription deadline is July 31.

Eles--down 0.9%--announced Wednesday it had signed a five-year framework agreement with a global leader in automated test equipment supply.

The agreement calls for Eles to design and supply a new automated platform for Burn-In Testing, intended for large-scale production of High-Performance Computing devices.

Simone lost 0.6%. On Wednesday, the company announced it had signed a preliminary agreement to acquire 51% of the share capital of a newco into which--through a demerger from Calamus Sas di Canton e C.--the business unit related to the "Topipittori" brand will be transferred.

The latter is a publishing house specializing in illustrated children's books, which recorded average revenues of EUR1.3 million over the 2022-2024 period.

In New York last night, the Dow closed down 0.3%, the Nasdaq fell 0.8%, and the S&P 500 lost 0.5%.

In Asia, the Nikkei is up 0.3%, the Shanghai Composite is down 0.1%, and the Hang Seng is retreating 0.4%.

In currencies, the euro is trading at USD1.1427 from USD1.1456 on Thursday evening, while the pound is trading at USD1.3550 from USD1.3594 last night.

In commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD65.11 a barrel from USD65.58 last night, while gold is valued at USD3,364.95 an ounce from USD3,395.40 an ounce last night.

Friday's macroeconomic calendar features a speech by European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde at 10:30 CEST, followed at 11:00 CEST by Eurozone GDP, retail sales, and employment data.

Across the Atlantic, the US unemployment rate is due at 14:30 CEST.

No significant announcements are expected from companies listed on Piazza Affari today.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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