Futures active on progress in US-China negotiations

(Alliance News) - European futures are up on Monday after the US cited "substantial progress" in trade negotiations with China following two days of talks in Switzerland over the weekend.

Further details are expected later in the day. US officials highlighted an agreement aimed at reducing the trade deficit, while Chinese leaders described the outcome as the achievement of an "important consensus."

The FTSE Mib, after closing up 1.0% on Friday at 39,369.99, is rising by 422.00 points.

On Friday, the Mid-Cap rose 1.2% to 52,831.94, the Small-Cap gained 0.8% to 30,494.96, and Italy Growth rose 0.1% to 7,798.27.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 in London rose 22.70 points, the CAC 40 in Paris advanced 66.50 points, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt is up 231.00 points.

On the Mib, STMicroelectronics gained 3.3% to EUR21.22 per share on Friday evening, its third session of gains.

Saipem rose 3.8% to EUR2.1780 per share, its third consecutive session among the gainers.

Mediobanca also performed well, rising 5.4% after approving its consolidated results for March 31, closing with a net profit of EUR993 million, up 5% on the same period last year. EPS rose to EUR1.19, up 7%, while ROTE stood at 14%, up 60 bps. The board approved the distribution of an interim dividend of EUR0.56 per share for a total value of EUR455 million.

The board of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena - up 1.5% - reviewed and approved the first quarter results, closing with a net profit of EUR 413 million, up 24% year-on-year. The group's gross operating profit was EUR 535 million, down 2.8% compared to the first quarter of 2024.

The board of Enel, up 2.1%, approved on Thursday the interim management report as of March 31, closing with a net ordinary result for the group of EUR2.0 billion, down EUR177 million compared to the same period in 2024.

UniCredit, up 1.0%, announced on Friday that it had received authorization from the European Central Bank to launch the second tranche of its 2024 share buyback program for a maximum amount of EUR 3.60 billion. Combining this operation with the dividends already distributed during the year, the total distribution for 2024 will reach EUR 9.00 billion.

Among the few losers, Campari fell 2.7% after three sessions of gains. Of note, UBS raised its target price on the stock to EUR6.30 from EUR5.70 per share.

Leonardo was also down, falling 3.3% to EUR47.38 per share.

On the Mid-Cap, BFF Bank rose 7.5% after falling 0.5% the previous day, despite reporting a net profit of EUR 35.4 million in the first quarter, down from EUR 39.3 million in the same period last year.

Lottomatica closed up 7.0%, recovering after three sessions of declines and bringing its year-to-date gain to over 62%.

Credito Emiliano lost 1.3%. On Thursday, it approved its first quarter 2025 results, closing the period with a net profit of EUR 229.3 million compared to EUR 160.9 million last year. Net interest income amounted to EUR 475.4 million, down from EUR 525.3 million in the first quarter of 2024.

The board of Banco di Desio e della Brianza, down 3.1%, approved the consolidated quarterly financial report as of March 31, closing with a consolidated net profit of EUR 37.0 million, down 5.5% compared to the first quarter of 2024. The result therefore shows a ROE of 9.9%. Operating profit was EUR60.9 million, down almost 19% compared to the same period last year.

On the Small-Cap market, Bestbe Holding closed up 4.3%, bringing the price to EUR0.11669 per share after a flat session the previous day and a 4.8% decline in the session before that.

The board of Banca Profilo, up 3.0%, approved the interim report as of March 31, closing with a net profit of EUR 2.2 million, down 20% on an annual basis. Total customer deposits, including net trust deposits, stood at EUR 6.3 billion, up 2.8% on an annual basis.

Seri Industrial, down 2.7%, announced on Thursday that it had closed the first quarter with revenues up 34% year-on-year, to EUR 58.4 million from EUR 43.5 million in the same period last year.

Zucchi lost 0.9% after two consecutive bullish sessions. Since the beginning of 2025, the stock has lost about a third of its market cap.

Among SMEs, Circle rose 1.7% to EUR5.88 per share, its third consecutive session with a bullish candle.

Kruso Kapital - flat at EUR 1.95 - announced on Thursday that it had closed the first quarter with a net profit of EUR 1.9 million, up 138% year-on-year. The result includes the contribution of Pignus – Crédito Económico Popular, a Portuguese subsidiary consolidated since November 2024.

ATON Green Storage rose 15%, with just under 80,000 shares changing hands.

In New York on Friday, the Dow fell 0.3%, the Nasdaq closed flat, while the S&P 500 closed down 0.1%.

In Asia, the Nikkei rose 0.4%, the Hang Seng advanced 1.4%, while the Shanghai Composite is up 0.7%.

Among currencies, the euro is trading at USD 1.1229 from USD 1.1262 on Friday evening, while the pound is trading at USD 1.3293 from USD 1.3300 on Friday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD 64.80 per barrel from USD 63.30 per barrel on Friday evening, while gold is trading at USD 3,277.35 from USD 3,337.25 per ounce yesterday evening.

Monday's sparse macroeconomic calendar features the Eurogroup meeting at 1200 CEST and speeches by several FOMC members throughout the day.

The corporate calendar on the Italian stock exchange is busier, however, in what will be the first day of a week full of quarterly results.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News senior reporter

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