The week kicked off with caution at Piazza Affari, as the Milan Stock Exchange opened around flat before weakening, mirroring the tone seen across other European markets.
After two positive weeks and a strong performance on Wall Street last Friday--driven by better-than-expected US jobs data, which eased concerns over the impact of tariffs--European equities are holding steady as investors await fresh developments from today's trade talks between the United States and China in London.
Thanks to a solid recovery from early April lows and a recent sharp drop in volatility, investors have entered the final month of the second quarter with well-stocked portfolios, a trader noted.
On the macroeconomic front, the main event of the week will come on Wednesday, with the release of US consumer price data.
Around 9:45 am, the FTSE Mib index was down 0.24%.
Among individual stocks, profit-taking continued on Leonardo, down about 1%, as well as on Prysmian. Utilities were sluggish, with Italgas and Hera both falling around 0.8%.
Banks were generally weak, pausing after last week's strong performances.
On the positive side of the Milanese blue-chip index, Diasorin rose more than 1%, while Interpump gained 0.9%. Oil stocks Eni and Saipem also traded in positive territory.
Among smaller stocks, Class Editor was subject to volatility auctions after surging more than 8% on news that Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone holds a 2.5% stake in the publishing group.
(Reporting by Andrea Mandalà, editing by Sabina Suzzi)
