(Alliance News) - On Wednesday, the main European stock markets closed without a downward trend, with only London in positive territory and Milan slightly down at around 40,100 points.
The session took place against the backdrop of the third day of negotiations between the US and China in London, now nearing a final resolution. President Trump, in fact, labeled the agreement with Beijing on rare earths as a "done deal," and China said it was ready to strengthen cooperation with Washington.
The pre-negotiation uncertainty had prompted European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde to criticize "coercive trade policies," predicting the risk of damage to supply chains and the global economy.
Meanwhile, on the monetary policy front, recent statements by ECB officials have reinforced expectations of a possible pause in the monetary easing cycle, with the institution ready to adopt a wait-and-see approach to assess the economic impact of the new US tariffs. Quantitative tightening in Frankfurt, on the other hand, is proceeding apace. The Eurotower's total assets amounted to EUR 6,243.2 billion, down by approximately EUR 31.3 billion from the previous week.
The FTSE Mib therefore closed Wednesday down 0.1% at 40,180.24 points.
Among the smaller indices, the Mid-Cap ended up 0.2% at 54,761.33, the Small-Cap ended down 0.4% at 31,380.18, while the Italy Growth ended up 0.1% at 8,138.17.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 in London closed up 0.2%, as mentioned above, the DAX 40 in Frankfurt fell slightly by 0.1%, while the CAC 40 in Paris recorded a 0.4% decline.
On the Piazza Affari - in the blue chip index - Azimut led the gains with a 2.6% increase after announcing on Tuesday that it had recorded net inflows of EUR 1.9 billion in May. This brings the cumulative total since the beginning of the year to EUR 7.6 million, bringing the company closer to its annual target of over EUR 10 billion.
FinecoBank shares rose 1.7%, recording an acceleration of over EUR 1.3 billion in net inflows, up 39% compared to EUR 946 million a year ago, and the company also reported an increase of approximately 85,000 new customers.
A2A also performed well, rising 2.0% after two sessions of bearish candlesticks.
Nexi, on the other hand, lost 2.5%, after a 0.3% gain the previous day, bringing it to the bottom of the table.
Banca Monte Paschi Siena was also down, closing 1.4% lower in its second session of declines.
Mediobanca - down 0.2% to EUR19.63 per share - announced on Wednesday that the boards of directors of Banca Mediolanum and Mediolanum Vita had voted in favor of Mediobanca's takeover bid for Banca Generali.
In the Mid Cap index, Philogen rose 20% to EUR27.20 per share.
Alerion also performed well, rising for the second consecutive session with a 3.3% increase and a final price of around EUR 17.00.
Technoprobe closed down 5.8% after the company announced that T-Plus had completed the sale of 10 million ordinary shares it held in the company.
Garofalo Health Care fell 3.4%, after gaining 1.5% the previous day, bringing the price to EUR5.10.
On the Small-Cap market, Mondo TV closed up 15% with a new price of EUR0.0810, in its fourth session with a bullish candle.
Class Editori recorded a 23% increase, with a price now standing at EUR0.1560. As Francesco Bonazzi writes in Alliance News, "with Class shares suspended on the stock exchange by Consob, market interest in the fate of Italy's second largest economic and financial information hub remains unabated. At the moment, Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone seems to be aiming to take over the board of statutory auditors, but the Roman financier and publisher may want to deploy other newspapers in the long war for control of Mediobanca and Generali, in addition to Messaggero and Mattino.
"Yesterday, Consob, led by Paolo Savona, an economist who has always had very close ties with Class publisher Paolo Panerai, halted orders to purchase Class ordinary shares without a price limit. Yesterday, the stock closed up 28.6% at EUR0.126 per share," Bonazzi explains.
The Alliance News columnist explains how "Caltagirone has appeared in the shareholders' register with a 2.5% stake, but could buy the 15% stake held by Andrea Bianchedi with minimal financial effort, who already has a substantial capital gain in his pocket in just two years. The consultation agreement that held 67% of the voting rights is destined to fall apart. Bianchedi, heir to a branch of the Recordati family, is now a financier and philanthropist."
Fidia closed in the red, down 6.8%. On Wednesday, the company announced that, starting June 16, it will proceed with the consolidation of its ordinary shares at a ratio of 1 new share for every 100 existing shares.
Safilo Group, on the other hand, lost 3.4%, subject to profit-taking after three sessions in positive territory.
Among SMEs, Emma Villas ended with a bullish candle of 27% and over 69,000 shares traded, well above the three-month daily average of 8,200 shares.
H-Farm closed up 21%. Since the beginning of 2025, the stock has seen its market cap increase by approximately 21%.
Culti Milano closed down 7.1%, not far behind E-Globe, which closed down 7.3% and occupied the last place in the segment.
In New York, the Dow is up 0.4%, while the Nasdaq is rising 0.2%, as is the S&P 500.
Among currencies, the euro is trading at USD 1.1487 against USD 1.1426 at Tuesday's close, while the pound is trading at USD 1.3546 from USD 1.3514 yesterday evening.
Among commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD 68.19 per barrel, up from USD 67.87 per barrel at the previous close, while gold is worth USD 3,337.48 per ounce, up from USD 3,323.2 per ounce yesterday.
In Thursday's economic calendar, Italian unemployment figures are due at 1000 CEST, followed by a speech by European Central Bank member Schnabel at 1100 CEST. At 1110 CEST, Italian BTPs maturing in 3.7 and 30 years will be auctioned.
At 0800 CEST, data on industrial and manufacturing production in the UK will be released. At 1430 CEST, the US producer price index will be released.
In Italy, AbitareIn is scheduled to release its results.
By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter
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