Green on the markets; focus on the US-China agreement

(Alliance News) - European stock markets are set to open slightly higher on Tuesday as investors continue to assess the initial trade agreement between the US and China, with uncertainty over future developments beyond the 90-day truce.

Attention is also shifting to some key economic indicators, including the German ZEW economic sentiment survey, which could offer clues about the economic path of the old continent.

The FTSE Mib - after closing Monday up 1.4% at 39,921.61 - is up 35.00 points.

Among the smaller indices, the Mid-Cap rose 0.8% to 53,275.50 yesterday evening, the Small-Cap rose 0.2% to 30,559.48, and the Italy Growth gained 0.3% to 7,823.93.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 in London—the only index to fall—is down 14.20 points, the CAC 40 in Paris is up 2.80 points, and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt is up 75.00 points.

In New York, the Dow closed up 2.8% last night, the Nasdaq rose 4.4% and the S&P 500 gained 3.3%.

Among Asian markets, the Hang Seng is down 1.4%, the Shanghai Composite is up 0.2%, while the Nikkei is up 1.7%.

On the Mib, Stellantis performed best on Monday with a 6.9% rise. According to Bloomberg, Stellantis is nearing the end of its complex search for a new CEO, with Antonio Filosa, currently head of the Americas, in pole position for the appointment.

According to anonymous sources, the parent company of Jeep, Ram, and Fiat is close to a final decision, although the board chaired by John Elkann could still opt for another candidate.

Iveco Group confirmed its good form, rising 6.5% to EUR15.61 per share, its third consecutive session of gains.

STMicroelectronics gained 6.8%. It should be noted that Marshall Wace cut its short position on the stock to 1.09% from 1.10% previously.

The board of UniCredit, up 4.2%, approved the accounts for the first quarter of 2025, closing the period with a net profit of EUR 2.80 billion in the first quarter, up 41% on a quarterly basis and up 8.3% on an annual basis. RoTE stood at 22%.

In addition, the bank announced that it had signed an agreement with Google Cloud, a division of Google and part of the Alphabet group, to accelerate digital transformation in 13 markets.

Among the few losers was Hera, down 2.3% to EUR4.06 per share, in line with the negative performance of utilities.

Leonardo was at the bottom of the list, down 4.3%, following Friday evening's decline.

On the Mid-Cap, d'Amico rose 14% after a 3.2% decline in the previous session. It should be noted that Marshall Wace raised its short position on the stock to 1.30% from 1.23% previously. New hopes on tariffs and, therefore, fewer problems for exports, translated into a significant gain for the shipbuilding company.

The company announced on Thursday that it had recorded a consolidated net profit of USD 18.9 million in the first quarter, compared to USD 56.3 million in the first quarter of 2024.

Salvatore Ferragamo rose 7.8% after falling 0.7% in the previous session.

Ascopiave, down 2.0%, announced on Friday that it had acquired the remaining 9.8% of Asco Power's capital from Fin-Energy, thus increasing its stake in the renewable energy subsidiary to 100%. The agreed price for the transaction is EUR12.1 million, with the possibility of a variable component linked to earn-out mechanisms.

Fincantieri fell 6.4% - in line with today's defense sector trend - but reported strong figures for the first quarter, closing with revenues of EUR 2.38 billion, up 25% compared to EUR 1.77 billion in the same period last year.

Orders soared to EUR 11.71 billion from EUR 539 million in the first quarter of the previous year, equal to approximately 76% of the record value recorded in the whole of 2024, with a book-to-bill ratio of 4.9 times.

EBITDA rose to EUR 154 million from EUR 100 million in the first quarter of 2024, with a margin on revenues up to 6.5% from 5.7%.

Fincantieri's market capitalization today, at EUR3.71 billion, is significantly higher than in 2018, when it stood at EUR2.4 billion and the stock reached EUR11.66, its all-time high until last week.

Acea lost 4.6% to EUR19.90 per share.

On the Small-Cap index, Biesse rose 3.9%, its third consecutive session with a bullish candle.

Digital Value rose 4.4% after Citadel Advisors cut its short position to 0.86% from 0.95%. Voleon Capital Management, on the other hand, raised its position to 0.65% from 0.54% previously.

Somec rose 7.8%, reversing Friday evening's 0.9% decline and ahead of Thursday's earnings report.

Generalfinance, up 0.7%, announced on Friday that it had closed the first quarter with a net profit of EUR 5.3 million, up from EUR 4.9 million in the same period last year. Interest margin rose to EUR 3.3 million from EUR 2.6 million, while brokerage margin increased to EUR 14.4 million from EUR 10.6 million.

Among SMEs, ALA closed down 0.6% after HIG announced that it had increased its stake in the SME to 74% and that it would launch a takeover bid for the company with a view to delisting it.

As part of the transaction, UniCredit, through its Advisory division, is acting as Exclusive M&A Buys-Side Financial Advisor with a team composed of Benoit Remigi, Andrea Petruzzello, Pietro Sassella, Michele Buscemi, and Federico Belli.

The bank in Piazza Gae Aulenti is also acting as sole financing provider on the transaction with its Leveraged Financing Solutions team composed of Francesco Cristarella and Federico Ferrario.

Tenax International - down 0.5% - announced the approval of its new 2025-2028 business plan. The plan is based on four guidelines: product development and R&D, operations development and process efficiency and automation, a commercial development plan in high-potential countries, and integration and development of synergies with Esagono International.

Farmacosmo - down 3.9% - announced on Friday that it closed the first quarter with revenues down 21% year-on-year to EUR 14.0 million. The decline is exclusively due to the group's strategy aimed at maximizing the results of its efforts focused on the profitability of the Retail channel, at the expense of B2B business volumes.

Among currencies, the euro traded at USD 1.1110 from USD 1.1121 on Monday evening, while the pound traded at around USD 1.3195 from USD 1.3210 on Monday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude oil traded at USD 64.72 per barrel from USD 65.84 per barrel on Monday evening, while gold traded at USD 3,252.79 per ounce from USD 3,245.59 yesterday evening.

Tuesday's macroeconomic calendar includes the ZEW economic sentiment index in Germany and the Eurozone at 1100 CEST, ten minutes before the three- and seven-year BTP auctions.

US inflation - at 1430 CEST - will be the highlight of the day, which will close with weekly oil inventory data, due at 2230 CEST.

Among companies listed on the Italian stock exchange, results are expected from A2A, Buzzi, De' Longhi, ERG, Geox, De Nora, and Inwit, among others.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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