Futures down; US debt concerns weigh

(Alliance News) - European stock markets are set to open lower on Thursday, following the negative sentiment sweeping global markets, weighed down by growing concerns about US fiscal sustainability.

The risk-averse climate has been exacerbated by President Donald Trump's budget proposal, which includes significant tax cuts that would significantly increase US public debt. This prospect is fueling fears of potential macro-financial instability in the world's largest economy, triggering a widespread deleveraging of assets most exposed to risk.

Market operators are also maintaining a wait-and-see attitude ahead of the release of preliminary PMI data for the major eurozone economies, which will provide new insights into the pace of economic recovery in the European bloc.

Thus, the FTSE Mib - after closing up 0.1% at 40,551.22 - is down 212.50 points.

Among the smaller indices, the Mid-Cap closed up 0.3% at 54,377.49, the Small-Cap advanced 0.3% to 31,453.10, while the Italy Growth closed fractionally higher at 7,922.34.

The FTSE 100 in London is down 42.50 points, the CAC 40 in Paris is down 48.20 points, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt is down 150.00 points.

Returning to Milan, yesterday evening, on the Piazza Affari's highest capitalization index, FinecoBank was up 2.3% on the back of the previous day's 1.0% gain.

UniCredit closed fractionally higher at EUR57.85 per share, after updating its new 52-week high to EUR58.38 per share during the session. Of note, Goldman raised its target price from EUR62.50 to EUR64.50 with a 'buy' recommendation.

Nexi, up 1.7%, announced on Wednesday the launch of a share buyback program for a maximum amount of EUR 300 million, with a deadline of December 31, 2025. The plan was approved by the shareholders' meeting on April 30 and provides for the repurchase of up to 20% of Nexi's share capital, including shares already held.

Snam, down 0.3%, announced on Wednesday that it had successfully completed its first bond issue in US dollars, raising USD 2.0 billion through a multi-tranche placement in a Sustainability-Linked format for institutional investors. The transaction represents the world's first issuance linked to net zero GHG emissions targets for Scope 1, 2, and 3.

In the second tier, there were significant purchases of Banco di Desio, which closed up 7.1%, its seventh session in positive territory.

Garofalo Healthcare - the second strongest performer on the index - closed up 4.1%, recovering after two sessions of declines.

Fincantieri, on the other hand, gained 3.3%. At the LIMA trade fair in Malaysia, the company and Enra Energy Solutions announced on Wednesday that they had signed a technical collaboration agreement to support the Royal Malaysian Navy's '15 to 5' program, aimed at renewing the fleet. The agreement, signed in the presence of Italian and Malaysian authorities, provides for cooperation in the supply and support of new naval vessels, including Multi Role Support Ships and Littoral Mission Ships.

De' Longhi closed up 0.3% at EUR29.10 per share. Berenberg raised its target price on the stock to EUR32.00 from EUR31.00 with a 'hold' recommendation.

ERG closed down 3.4%, after the previous session in which it closed up 7.6%.

The Italian Sea Group fell 3.7%, subject to profit taking after three sessions closed with a bullish candlestick and closing the list.

On the Small-Cap market, Landi Renzo gained over 10%, on its fourth bullish candle and with a price of around EUR1.25 per share.

I Grandi Viaggi advanced 8.9%, its fourth session in positive territory.

EuroGroup Laminations gained 0.3% to EUR3.16 per share. It should be noted that Berenberg cut its target price on the stock to EUR2.60 from EUR2.70 with a 'hold' recommendation.

Tinexta, down 2.2%, announced the completion of the closing of the call option exercised by its subsidiary Tinexta Innovation Hub, which led to the acquisition of 25% of the share capital of ABF Group from ABF Holding. The consideration for the transaction was symbolically set at EUR1.00. Following the transaction, Tinexta Innovation Hub holds approximately 99% of ABF Group's capital.

Among SMEs, Laboratorio Farmaceutico Erfo posted gains of over 14%. On Wednesday, the company announced the launch and marketing of its new product Osteo-therapy, currently in the patent process. It is a nutraceutical supplement developed to accelerate the osseointegration process following the placement of dental implants.

Esautomotion closed up 5.4%, in positive territory after two sessions in the red.

Iniziative Bresciane closed down 2.3% at EUR12.60 per share, a new low for the year.

Culti Milano, on the other hand, lost 4.4%, bringing the price to EUR13.20 per share.

In New York, the Dow closed down 1.9%, the Nasdaq was down 1.4%, while the S&P 500 closed down 1.6%.

Among Asian markets, the Nikkei is down 0.8%, the Shanghai Composite is down 0.1%, while the Hang Seng is down 0.8%.

Among currencies, the euro is trading at USD 1.1340 from USD 1.1338 yesterday evening, while the pound is trading at USD 1.3424 from USD 1.3441 yesterday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude is trading at USD 64.88 per barrel from USD 65.07 per barrel on Wednesday evening, while gold is trading at USD 3,333.12 from USD 3,311.40 per ounce yesterday evening.

Thursday's macroeconomic calendar features numerous PMIs, including France's at 0915 CEST, followed by Germany's at 0930 CEST and the Eurozone's half an hour later.

At 1:30 p.m. CEST, the ECB will release the minutes of its latest monetary policy meeting.

From the US, at 2:30 p.m. CEST, jobless claims will be released, followed at 3:45 p.m. CEST by the services and manufacturing PMI data.

In the evening, at 10:30 p.m. CEST, the focus will be on the Federal Reserve's weekly balance sheet.

In the corporate calendar, results are expected from DHH, Laboratorio Farmaceutico Erfo, and Mevim.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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