Mib down; new annual high for RCS

(Alliance News) - The Mib is down to 40,100 points on Thursday, interrupting a five-session winning streak, in line with the cautious sentiment prevailing on European markets, fueled by fears of possible economic repercussions linked to the global trade war.

Investors' attention has also shifted to the numerous quarterly reports, while on the monetary policy front, traders are positioning themselves - almost with certainty - for a cut by the ECB at its next meeting in June.

In Milan, 12% of stocks are up, 17% are down, 4% are unchanged, while 67% are not yet traded, with trading volume reaching approximately EUR 1.0 billion.

As a result, the FTSE Mib is down 0.5% at 40,154.62, with blue chip volumes showing a put/call ratio of 0.85.

The FTSE 100 in London is up 0.1%, the CAC 40 in Paris is down 0.3%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt is down 0.3%.

Among the smaller indices, the Mid-Cap is down 0.2% at 53,622.65, the Small-Cap is up 0.4% at 30,778.63, while the Italy Growth is up 0.4% at 7,878.58.

Returning to Milan, on the blue-chip list, among the minority of gainers is Leonardo, up 3.0% at EUR46.83, on its third bullish candle.

Hera is also among the gainers, benefiting from good consolidated results as of March 31, closing the period with a net profit of EUR 163.8 million compared to EUR 153.3 million as of March 31, 2024. Net income attributable to shareholders rose to EUR 153.7 million, up 7.4% year-on-year.

Nexi - just above par - announced that it had successfully completed the placement of a EUR750 million senior unsecured bond maturing in six years, as part of its new EUR4 billion EMTN program approved at the end of February. The issue, intended exclusively for institutional investors, attracted strong interest, with orders totaling approximately EUR 3.5 billion, almost five times the amount offered.

Eni, down 1.0%, announced on Thursday that it had signed a temporary exclusive agreement with Ares Alternative Credit Management aimed at negotiating a definitive agreement and the subsequent finalization of the sale of a 20% stake in Plenitude. The oil company announced that the agreement with the fund was signed on the basis of an equity value of the subsidiary of between EUR 9.8 billion and EUR 10.2 billion, corresponding to an enterprise value of over EUR 12 billion.

Iveco Group - at the bottom of the list with a 6.7% loss - announced on Thursday that it closed the first quarter with revenues of EUR 3.03 billion, down from EUR 3.37 billion in the same period last year. Net revenues from industrial activities amounted to EUR 2.96 billion compared to EUR 3.28 billion in the first quarter of 2024, with better prices partially offsetting lower volumes in Trucks and Powertrain and a negative impact from exchange rates.

In the secondary segment, RCS rose 4.2% to EUR1.13 per share, updating its new 52-week high to EUR1.15 per share.

The board of Newlat Food, up 0.5%, approved the interim management report as of March 31, closing the period with a consolidated net profit of EUR 13.5 million, up from the loss of EUR 2.2 million recorded in the first quarter of 2024.

Moltiply Group also advanced after its results, up 0.5%. Revenues amounted to EUR 132.8 million, up 25% from the previous year, when they amounted to EUR 106.0 million.

Webuild - down 0.6% - announced on Wednesday that it had recorded new orders worth a total of EUR 5.00 billion in the first three months of 2025, of which EUR 220.0 million had already been formally awarded, while the remainder consisted of contracts in an advanced stage of finalization in low-risk markets such as Italy, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and North America.

Salvatore Ferragamo - at the bottom of the list with a 5.2% loss - announced on Wednesday that it closed the first quarter with total group revenues of EUR 221.1 million, down from EUR 227 million as of March 31, 2024.

On the Small-Cap market, Orsero rose 9.0% to EUR13.88, recovering after three sessions of decline.

doValue - up 4.1% - announced on Wednesday that it closed the first quarter with a net profit - excluding non-recurring items - of EUR 9.1 million, an improvement on the loss of EUR 2.4 million recorded in the same period of 2024. Including non-recurring items, the net loss amounted to EUR 946,000, compared to a loss of EUR 7.1 million in the first quarter of 2024.

FNM - down 0.3% - announced on Wednesday that it closed the first quarter with a net profit of EUR 12.0 million, compared to EUR 13.5 million as of March 31, 2024. Revenues for the three months amounted to EUR 154.5 million, compared to EUR 143.7 million in the same period of 2024. EBITDA at March 31 was EUR 50.6 million, up from EUR 47.8 million in 2024.

The board of Centrale del Latte d'Italia - not traded with a last price of EUR 3.04 per share - announced on Thursday that it had approved the results as of March 31, closing the period with a net profit of EUR 2.2 million, up 19% compared to EUR 1.9 million in the same period last year.

Among SMEs, Cludia Research rose 3.7% to EUR1.41 per share, after gaining 4.6% in the previous session.

Innovatec - up 4.0% - announced on Wednesday the sale, through its subsidiary Innovatec Energy, of the entire share capital of the special purpose vehicle Elios 6, owner of a photovoltaic plant of approximately 4.5 MWp located in Petilia Policastro, in the province of Crotone. The transaction, concluded with the CEUR and Camplus Foundations, has a total value of EUR 4.4 million.

Omer - flat at EUR 4.43 - announced on Wednesday that it closed the first quarter with total consolidated revenues of EUR 22.4 million, up 16% year-on-year, while EBITDA at March 31 was EUR 3.5 million. The net financial position was positive at EUR18.8 million, compared with EUR19.9 million at December 31, 2024.

TMP Group is down 6.4%, bringing it to the bottom of the pack and subject to profit taking after three sessions of strong gains.

In New York last night, the Dow closed down 0.2%, the Nasdaq advanced 0.7%, while the S&P 500 posted a 0.1% gain.

In Asia, the Nikkei closed down 1.0%, the Shanghai Composite fell 0.7%, and the Hang Seng ended down 0.8%.

Among currencies, the euro is trading at USD 1.1211 from USD 1.1199 last night, while the pound is trading at USD 1.3288 from USD 1.3297 last night.

Among commodities, Brent crude oil traded at USD 63.38 per barrel from USD 66.10 per barrel yesterday evening, while gold traded at USD 3,144.16 per ounce from USD 3,184.09 yesterday evening.

Thursday's macroeconomic calendar includes a speech by Luis de Guindos, vice president of the European Central Bank, at 12:15 p.m. CEST.

In the afternoon, at 2:30 p.m. CEST, data on initial and continuing jobless claims, retail sales, and the core producer price index will be released in the US.

At 2:40 p.m. CEST, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak.

The day ends at 3:15 p.m. CEST, again from the US, with data on industrial and manufacturing production.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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