(Alliance News) – Major European stock indices opened Thursday’s session lower, weighed down by worsening geopolitical tensions and uncertainty over monetary policy outlooks. The increasingly cautious market sentiment follows escalating conflict in the Middle East and the prospect of greater US military involvement.
Markets also digested signals from the Federal Reserve, which kept rates unchanged at Wednesday’s meeting. Chairman Jerome Powell indicated that inflationary pressures could intensify, partly due to tariffs proposed by the Trump administration.
On the geopolitical front, the standoff between Israel and Iran has reached new critical levels. President Trump stated that the US could participate directly in Israeli airstrikes on Tehran. However, he also noted signs of openness to dialogue from Iranian authorities. Meanwhile, European leaders are preparing for a crucial meeting with Iran on Friday, focused on the nuclear dossier.
In Milan, 3% of stocks are up, 12% are down, 1% are unchanged, while 85% have yet to be traded, with a turnover of around EUR220 million.
The FTSE Mib is down 0.9% at 39,073.65 points.
Across European financial markets, London’s FTSE 100 is down 0.4%, Paris’s CAC is off 0.7%, while Frankfurt’s DAX 40 is down 0.6%.
Among the secondary indices, the Mid-Cap is down 1.0% at 53,006.61 points, the Small-Cap is losing 0.5% at 30,820.59 points, while Italy Growth is up 0.2% at 8,127.63 points.
On the Mib, among the few risers is Tenaris, up 1.2% at EUR15.95 per share after a 0.9% drop in the previous session.
Eni is also up 1.0% at EUR14.31 per share, marking its third consecutive positive session.
Saipem – just below parity at EUR2.41 – announced Thursday that it has been awarded a Front End Engineering Design contract by Sonatrach for the Phosphate Integrated project, aimed at fertilizer production in Algeria. The contract was awarded through a competitive dual FEED process, with design activities to be carried out by both Saipem and a second competing operator.
Mediobanca – down 0.8% – reported the purchase of 223,500 of its own ordinary shares on June 18. The shares were acquired at an average price of EUR19.31, for a total value of EUR4.3 million.
Amplifon, meanwhile, is down 2.4% after gaining 1.5% in the previous session.
On the Mid-Cap, Alerion is up 2.4% after two losing sessions.
Salvatore Ferragamo is down 2.3%, marking its third consecutive bearish day.
Sanlorenzo is also retreating by 2.1%, its third straight session in the red.
WIIT is down 2.1%, also for the third consecutive session.
On the Small-Cap, Gas Plus is up 3.5% at EUR5.00, after hitting a new 52-week high of EUR5.04 per share during trading.
Fiera Milano – down 1.7% – announced it has won the consultation launched by Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026 for the contract covering the design, management, and dismantling of temporary infrastructure at the Rho exhibition center for next year’s skating and ice hockey events. The total contract value stands at EUR30.7 million, based on the Interim Agreement signed between Fiera Milano and Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026.
Among SMEs, Allcore is up 5.3% after a 2.3% drop the previous day.
Alfonsino – up 3.1% – announced Thursday the signing of an exclusive contract with Superò Srl – a large-scale retail brand – to launch its grocery delivery service, initially at one store, starting June 25.
Metriks AI – up 4.8% – announced the launch of a buyback program for 375,000 of its own ordinary shares, as approved by shareholders. Under the plan, which will last no more than 18 months, the company may invest up to EUR750,000 in repurchases.
IMD – up 3.6% – reported that its subsidiary IMD Generators Srl has obtained a 20-year national patent for its new 50 kW Monobloc. As planned and communicated at the IPO, the IMD Generators R&D team “has leveraged its deep know-how and productively invested its resources to bring an absolute innovation to the market: the 50 kW Monobloc,” the company stated.
In New York last night, the Dow lost 0.1%, the Nasdaq gained 0.1%, while the S&P 500 closed just below flat.
In Asia, the Nikkei fell 0.9%, the Hang Seng is down 2.0%, and the Shanghai Composite is off 0.9%.
In currencies, the euro is trading at USD1.1455 from USD1.1507 Wednesday evening, while the pound is at USD1.3393 from USD1.3452 last night.
Among commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD76.81 per barrel from USD75.48 at the previous close, while gold is at USD3,350.55 per ounce from USD3,385.56 at the previous close.
Thursday’s economic calendar features a speech by the vice president of the German Bundesbank at 10:30 CEST, followed by another from Nagel.
At 11:00 CEST, Eurozone construction output data will be released, with an Eurogroup meeting and another speech by Lagarde later in the morning. The Bank of England’s interest rate decision is expected at 13:00 CEST.
No significant news is expected from Piazza Affari.
By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News Reporter
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