(Alliance News) - European stock markets--according to futures trading--are gearing up for a weak opening on Thursday, weighed down by renewed trade concerns after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose unilateral tariffs within two weeks to pressure countries into signing trade agreements.
However, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested that the Trump administration might extend the current 90-day mutual tariff suspension for countries that demonstrate "good faith" in negotiations. The initial positive impact from progress in US-China talks has started to fade, despite Trump's declaration that the trade deal with Beijing was "done."
The FTSE Mib, therefore--after closing 0.1% lower at 40,180.24 points on Wednesday--is currently showing a loss of 227.50 points.
Across Europe, London's FTSE 100 is down 38.00 points, Frankfurt's DAX 40 is off by 176.80 points, while Paris's CAC 40 is retreating by 38.30 points.
Among the smaller indices last night, the Mid-Cap ended up 0.2% at 54,761.33, the Small-Cap closed down 0.4% at 31,380.18, while Italy Growth finished 0.1% higher at 8,138.17.
On the blue-chip list at Piazza Affari last night, Azimut led the gainers, rising 2.6% after announcing on Tuesday that it recorded net inflows of EUR1.9 billion in May. This brings the year-to-date total to EUR7.6 billion, moving the company closer to its annual target of over EUR10 billion.
FinecoBank shares climbed 1.7%, reporting net inflows of over EUR1.3 billion--a 39% increase from EUR946 million a year ago--and the company also announced the addition of approximately 85,000 new clients.
A2A also showed strength, up 2.0% after two consecutive bearish sessions.
Nexi, on the other hand, lost 2.5%, following a 0.3% gain the previous day and placing it at the bottom of the list.
Banca Monte Paschi Siena also fell, down 1.4% in its second consecutive negative session.
Mediobanca--down 0.2% to EUR19.63 per share--announced on Wednesday that the boards of Banca Mediolanum and Mediolanum Vita have approved Mediobanca's public exchange offer for Banca Generali.
On the Mid Cap index, Philogen surged 20% with shares at EUR27.20 each.
Alerion also showed strength, marking its second consecutive bullish session with a 3.3% increase and a final price around EUR17.00.
Technoprobe, however, closed down 5.8% after the company announced that T-Plus had completed the sale of 10 million ordinary shares it previously held.
Garofalo Health Care dropped 3.4%, following a 1.5% gain the previous day, bringing the price to EUR5.10.
On the Small-Cap index, Mondo TV closed up 15% at EUR0.0810, marking its fourth consecutive bullish session.
Class Editori posted a 23% gain, now trading at EUR0.1560. As Francesco Bonazzi writes for Alliance News, "With Class shares halted on the stock exchange by Consob, market interest remains high regarding the fate of Italy's second-largest economic and financial news group. Currently, Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone appears focused on winning control of the board of auditors, but the Roman financier and publisher may seek to deploy other newspapers in the ongoing contest for control of Mediobanca and Generali, in addition to 'Messaggero' and 'Mattino.'"
"Yesterday, Consob--led by Paolo Savona, an economist with long-standing ties to Class publisher Paolo Panerai--suspended unlimited price buy orders for ordinary Class shares. The stock had closed up 28.6% at EUR0.126 per share the previous day," Bonazzi explains.
The Alliance News columnist adds, "Caltagirone has appeared on the shareholder register with a 2.5% stake, but could easily acquire the 15% stake held by Andrea Bianchedi, who has already secured a hefty capital gain in just two years. The consultation pact, which held 67% of voting rights, is set to collapse. Bianchedi, an heir to a branch of the Recordati family, is now a financier and philanthropist."
Fidia ended in the red, down 6.8%. The company announced Wednesday that, starting June 16, it will consolidate its ordinary shares at a ratio of 1 new share for every 100 existing shares.
Safilo Group also dropped 3.4%, affected by profit-taking after three consecutive positive sessions.
Among SMEs, Emma Villas ended with a bullish candle, up 27%, with over 69,000 shares traded--far surpassing the three-month daily average of 8,200 shares.
H-Farm closed up 21%. Since the start of 2025, the stock's market cap has increased by about 21%.
Culti Milano closed down 7.1%, just ahead of E-Globe, which fell 7.3%, occupying the bottom of the segment.
In New York, the Dow closed just below flat, the Nasdaq slipped 0.5%, and the S&P 500 ended 0.3% lower.
In Asia, the Nikkei is down 0.6%, the Shanghai Composite is fractionally lower, and the Hang Seng is contracting by 1.0%.
In currencies, the euro is trading at USD1.1516 compared to USD1.1487 at Wednesday's close, while the pound is at USD1.3557 from USD1.3546 last night.
In commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD69.24 per barrel from USD68.19 at the previous close, while gold is valued at USD3,368.20 an ounce from USD3,337.48 an ounce the previous day.
Thursday's economic calendar features Italian unemployment data at 10:00 CEST; at 11:00 CEST, a speech by European Central Bank member Schnabel; and at 11:10 CEST, the Italian BTP auction with maturities of 3, 7, and 30 years.
At 08:00 CEST, UK industrial and manufacturing production data are due. At 14:30 CEST, the US producer price index will be released.
In Italy, corporate results from AbitareIn are expected on the company calendar.
By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News Reporter
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