(Alliance News) - European stock markets are heading for a cautious opening on Thursday, with traders awaiting the European Central Bank's monetary policy decision.
The focus is on a widely expected 25 basis point rate cut, which is already priced into market valuations.
Expectations of easing have been further reinforced by the latest macroeconomic data, which showed inflation in the Eurozone slowing to 1.9% in May, below consensus estimates and below the ECB's symmetric target of 2%. This data helps to strengthen the narrative in favor of a more accommodative monetary policy.
Globally, investor sentiment remains vulnerable, weighed down by persistent trade tensions. Statements by US President Donald Trump, who described reaching an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping as "extremely difficult," dampened hopes for an imminent resumption of bilateral talks, despite earlier signs of a possible meeting between the two leaders later this week.
The FTSE Mib, therefore, after closing fractionally higher yesterday evening at 40,080.88 points, is now fractionally lower.
Among the smaller indices, the Mid-Cap rose 0.4% to 54,458.29, the Small-Cap gained 0.1% to 31,525.12, and the Italy Growth is down 0.5% to 8,086.87.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 in London is down 9.70 points, the CAC 40 in Paris is down 9.00 points, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt is just below par.
Last night, on the Milan stock exchange's highest capitalization list, STMicroelectronics rose by more than 11% to EUR24.93 per share. As Francesco Bonazzi writes in Alliance News, "STM is too small to split in two and there are no separate markets for microchips. With this reasoning, the two Italian and French public shareholders have resumed dialogue after months of cold war over the leadership of CEO Jean Marc Chéry." This was reported by direct sources to Alliance News on the day the stock posted a strong rebound on the stock market.
"In short, the market appreciates peace, and a lot. This peace is the result of yesterday's meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, but also of pragmatism," writes the Alliance News columnist.
Campari also performed well, up 6.4%, raising its head after two bearish sessions.
Prysmian advanced 2.2%, following on from 1.7% the previous day.
Among the minority of losers, Leonardo fell 2.5% after Tuesday's 1.5% gain, closing at EUR53.14 per share.
Monte dei Paschi fell 3.4% after two sessions of modest gains, while Mediobanca lost 2.6%. As Francesco Bonazzi writes, "Mediobanca is trying to close ranks ahead of Monte Paschi's public exchange offer, despite a fragmented shareholding structure. However, the Piazzetta Cuccia management still has the share prices on its side, which between January 23 and today have widened the gap between the two stocks, potentially making the operation proposed by Rocca Salimbeni, with the government's blessing, more expensive."
In the second tier, Alerion took the top spot on the index, advancing 7.5% after Tuesday's 2.4% loss.
Carel Industries advanced 3.3%, its third consecutive bullish candle.
On a negative note, among the many, Comer Industries closed down 1.0% after three sessions of gains.
NewPrinces fell 3.5% to EUR17.86, following Tuesday's 0.3% decline at the close.
In the Small-Cap segment, Seri Industrial closed up more than 14%, bringing the price to EUR2.35 per share.
Landi Renzo advanced 5.1%, after falling 2.3% in the previous session.
Zest rose 4.0% to EUR0.1705 per share, after two sessions of declines.
Fiera Milano, up 0.7%, announced on Wednesday that it had launched its buyback program for a maximum of EUR1.2 million. During the plan, which will end within a maximum of 18 months, the company may acquire no more than 200,000 of its own ordinary shares.
Among the losers, Bestbe Holding was at the back of the pack, closing down 5.2% at EUR0.12 per share.
Among SMEs, Doxee closed up 7.7% after two bearish sessions with a price of around EUR1.82 per share.
DBA Group advanced 6.8% after a 1.5% decline the previous day.
Simone, down 1.9%, announced on Wednesday that it had signed a preliminary agreement to acquire 51% of the share capital of a newco in which, through a spin-off of Calamus di Canton e C., the business unit relating to the "Topipittori" brand will be merged. The latter is a publishing house specialising in illustrated children's books, which recorded average revenues of EUR 1.3 million in the three-year period 2022-2024.
Circle - down 0.9% - announced on Wednesday that it had signed a new contract for the maintenance of Port Community System services at a major Mediterranean port. The contract, worth approximately EUR100,000 and lasting approximately 12 months, provides for the management of the PCS services platform, an advanced digital solution developed to support the evolution of port and intermodal logistics.
Among the many companies in the red was Lemon Sistemi, which closed down 2.2% in its third session of decline.
In New York last night, the Dow fell 0.2%, the Nasdaq rose 0.3%, while the S&P 500 closed just above par.
In Asia, the Nikkei is down 0.5%, the Shanghai Composite is up 0.1%, while the Hang Seng is advancing 0.6%.
Among currencies, the euro is trading at USD 1.1415 from USD 1.1423 on Wednesday evening, while the pound is trading at USD 1.3554 from USD 1.3563 yesterday evening.
Among commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD 64.83 per barrel, down from USD 64.70 per barrel on Wednesday evening, while gold is worth USD 3,366.69 per ounce, down from USD 3,372.62 per ounce yesterday evening.
Thursday's macroeconomic calendar includes a series of data on the construction sector at 0930 CEST: the construction PMI indices for Italy, Germany, France, and the Eurozone will be released.
At 10:00 CEST, data on car registrations in the UK and retail sales in Italy are expected. At 10:30 CEST, the spotlight will be on the UK construction PMI index.
At 11:00 CEST, the Eurozone producer price index will be published, followed at 12:00 CEST by data on car registrations in Germany.
The focus then shifts to the ECB's monetary policy: at 2:15 p.m. CEST, the interest rate decision is expected, followed at 2:45 p.m. CEST by the central bank's press conference. At the same time as the ECB, at 2:30 p.m. CEST, weekly data on initial and continuing unemployment claims will be released in the US, along with the trade balance.
At 4:15 p.m. CEST, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is scheduled to speak.
Among companies listed on the Italian stock exchange, Netweek and OSAI Automation System are expected to report their results.
By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News senior reporter
Comments and questions to redazione@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2025 Alliance News IS Italian Service Ltd. All rights reserved.
