European Markets Edge Lower; Inwit and Recordati Stand Out

(Alliance News) - European stock markets kicked off the week's first session on a downbeat note, diverging from earlier futures indications and after Milan's opening trades showed only a tentative move into positive territory.

Markets are showing a muted reaction to fresh trade tensions. Former US President Donald Trump has threatened to double tariffs on steel and aluminum, raising the risk of retaliatory measures from the EU.

Traders remain focused on Eurozone inflation data, with consensus anticipating a slowdown toward the European Central Bank's 2% target. A weak reading would strengthen expectations for a 25-basis-point rate cut as early as the next meeting.

Thus, the FTSE Mib - as mentioned at the top - reversed early gains to trade down 0.5% at 39,770.61.

London's FTSE 100 is down 0.1%, while Paris's CAC 40 and Frankfurt's DAX 40 are both off by 0.2%.

Among smaller indices, last night the Mid-Cap index slipped 0.3% to 54,141.35, the Small-Cap dropped 0.5% to 31,412.79, and the Italy Growth index posted a fractional decline to 8,119.54.

On the Mib, Recordati gained 1.0%, lifting its share price to around EUR53.35.

Inwit also advanced 0.5% to EUR10.33 per share, recovering from a 0.5% drop in the previous session.

Nexi - down 0.3% - reported Monday it had bought back 3.2 million of its own ordinary shares between May 26 and May 30. The shares were purchased at an average price of EUR5.3048, for a total value of EUR17.0 million.

STMicroelectronics - down 0.2% - said Monday it had repurchased 324,000 of its own ordinary shares between May 26 and May 30 at an average price of EUR22.4337 per share, for a total value of EUR7.3 million.

Snam - down 0.1% - announced Monday it has signed an agreement with the European Commission for EUR24 million in co-financing under the Connecting Europe Facility, aimed at supporting strategic infrastructure projects for Europe's energy sector. The co-financing agreement was signed on June 2 in Copenhagen during the Energy Infrastructure Forum.

On the Mid-Cap, Industrie de Nora rose 2.1% to EUR6.33 per share, rebounding from a 5.3% loss in the previous session.

Caltagirone gained 0.9% to around EUR7.16, following a 0.6% uptick the day before.

Technoprobe jumped 4.6% to EUR7.13. Notably, Deutsche Bank raised its target price to EUR9.00 from a previous EUR6.30 per share.

On the downside, among several decliners, Banco di Desio e della Brianza fell 2.1%, marking its sixth consecutive session in the red.

On the Small-Cap, SIT advanced 4.6% after a 0.8% drop the previous day.

Zest gained 2.1% after closing Monday with a 2.9% loss.

Among SMEs, Eles surged 7.6% to EUR1.63 after three straight losing sessions.

DHH climbed 2.5% after two consecutive sessions in the red, with shares trading around EUR20.70.

Mare Group - down 1.7% - announced Tuesday that the European Commission has approved its Cryostar project under the Horizon Europe - Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking. The project, which received an excellence rating, will last 24 months and aims to develop an innovative certification methodology for liquid hydrogen cryogenic tanks for next-generation commercial aircraft.

Xenia Hotellerie Solution - not yet trading - said it has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire the four-star Hotel Palio in Asti for EUR2.4 million.

In New York last night, the Dow closed just above flat, the Nasdaq gained 0.7%, and the S&P 500 ended up 0.4%.

In Asia, the Hang Seng is up 1.5%, the Shanghai Composite rises 0.4%, while the Nikkei closed marginally lower.

In currencies, the euro trades at USD1.1424 from USD1.1423 last night, while the pound stands at USD1.3526 from USD1.3548.

In commodities, Brent crude is at USD64.72 per barrel from USD64.90 last night, while gold is valued at USD3,364.16 per ounce from USD3,398.70 per ounce previously.

Tuesday's macroeconomic calendar features Italy's unemployment rate at 1000 CEST.

At 1100 CEST, two key eurozone releases are due: the consumer price index and the unemployment rate.

In the afternoon, at 1600 CEST, US factory orders and JOLTS job openings data will be released.

At 1800 CEST, Italy's car registration data will be published.

The day wraps up at 2230 CEST with weekly US crude oil inventory data.

Among companies on Piazza Affari, quarterly results from Reway Group are expected.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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