(Alliance News) – European stock markets are poised to open mostly lower on Friday, following three consecutive days of selling, with Milan set to open in the red after yesterday's losses.
European exchanges have come under pressure this week due to a series of disappointing corporate earnings and hawkish signals from the European Central Bank, which kept rates unchanged at Thursday's meeting.
Before the opening bell, FinecoBank released its results, closing the 2025 financial year with a net profit of EUR647.0 million, in line with the previous year. The board of directors proposed a dividend of EUR0.79 per share, up 7% year-on-year.
The Mib, after shedding 1.8% to 45,819.57 points last night, is indicated by futures to open down by 320.00 points.
Across Europe, the CAC 40 is down 14.60 points, the DAX 40 is up 24.00 points, while the FTSE 100 is losing 64.60 points.
Among the minor indices on Thursday, the Mid-Cap gained 0.1% to 60,112.92, the Small-Cap lost 0.3% to 36,586.62, while the Italy Growth closed down 0.1% at 8,723.17.
On Piazza Affari, Inwit had a strong session yesterday, closing up 2.1% at EUR7.95, following a 5.5% gain in the previous session.
Amplifon – up 3.0% – reported Thursday that Standard Ethics has raised its corporate standard ethics rating to 'EE-' from the previous 'E+' with a Positive outlook. "The Italian group," Standard Ethics explained, "is making progress towards compliance with international sustainability guidelines promoted by the United Nations, OECD, and EU."
BPER Banca – up 0.3% – announced Thursday morning, before markets opened, that it closed 2025 with consolidated net profit of EUR1.88 billion, up from EUR1.44 billion in 2024. Ordinary consolidated net profit at year-end was EUR2.10 billion, before EUR288.6 million recorded in the fourth quarter for integration costs and EUR181.8 million for PPA impact.
The board of directors proposed total dividends of EUR1.37 billion, up 60% year-on-year and including the interim dividend distributed in November 2025, with a payout ratio of 75%. The proposed unit cash dividend is EUR0.65, before the interim dividend already paid, up from EUR0.60 the previous year.
Banca Mediolanum ended down 1.1%. Notably, UBS raised its target price on the stock to EUR22.50 from EUR21.60. UBS forecasts a total net interest income growth of 10% between 2026 and 2030, assuming a stable three-month Euribor around 2%, a 22 basis point drop in funding costs in 2026, and a 5% annual increase in loans, in line with the group's guidance but conservative compared to the 8% recorded in 2025.
Stellantis closed down 5.7% after a 3.5% gain in the previous session. Light commercial vehicles risk becoming a ticking time bomb for Renault and Stellantis' accounts. According to Les Echos, the two groups' delays in meeting European emissions targets expose both to potentially billion-euro fines in the 2025–2027 regulatory cycle. The revision of the 2035 ban does not alter short-term obligations, while electric van sales remain weak.
On the secondary market, Ariston Holding advanced 3.7%, following a 2.0% gain in the previous session.
OVS – up 1.7% – announced it closed 2025 with sales up about 7% and estimated EBITDA between EUR216 million and EUR218 million, up 11% from the previous year. The result was supported by a solid commercial margin despite inflationary cost pressures, and by a strong acceleration in cash generation, over 20%, also thanks to effective working capital management.
Technogym slipped 0.7%, ending a four-session winning streak. On the stock, Citigroup raised its target price to EUR19.00 from EUR16.00.
Safilo fell 6.9%, after a 2.3% gain on Wednesday's close. On Wednesday, Berenberg raised its target price on the stock to EUR2.28 from EUR2.07 with a 'buy' recommendation.
On the Small-Cap, Geox gained 3.1% to EUR0.3010 per share, after a 0.5% rise the previous day.
OPS Italia – up 4.7% – announced the full extinguishment of a debt of over EUR1.6 million through conversion into equity, an operation that enables significant balance sheet strengthening and a drastic reduction in debt. The board of directors approved a capital increase reserved for Taddia for EUR1.4 million and for Ciro Di Meglio for EUR245,000.
Piquadro – down 1.5% – released data for the first nine months ending December 31, 2025, reporting revenue of EUR136.8 million, up 1.7% from EUR134.6 million in the previous year. The Piquadro brand recorded nine-month revenue of EUR54.4 million, down 5.1% year-on-year: DOS channel sales rose 5.3%, while e-commerce grew 48%, with the wholesale channel sharply down by 17%.
Dexelance dropped 5.0%, marking its sixth consecutive bearish session.
Among SMEs, ErreDue closed up over 11%, after a 2.0% gain the previous day, with the price around EUR8.55 per share.
Mare Engineering Group – up 0.8% – announced Thursday it has increased its board of directors to 7 from 5 members. As the company explained in a statement, the increase was also necessary in light of commitments made under agreements related to the acquisition of the majority stake in La SIA, completed on May 30, 2025, which, among other things, provide for the entry onto the board of Maurizio Ciardi, previously chairman and CEO of the same company before the acquisition and subsequent merger into Mare Group.
Kruso Capital – up 0.7% – approved consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2025, reporting net profit nearly doubled from the previous year, up 95% to EUR8.8 million from EUR4.5 million. The positive result was also driven by organic growth from Credito Economico Popular, which operates in Portugal and contributed EUR1.4 million.
DBA Group – up 0.5% – announced Thursday it has launched new services dedicated to commissioning activities in Spain. Additionally, the development strategy for Proyectos IFG, in which it is the majority shareholder, was presented. Once the service is launched in Spain, DBA Group intends to expand the same line of services to Italy across all market sectors related to infrastructure and complex buildings, as the company explained in a statement.
In New York, the Dow Jones closed down 1.2%, as did the S&P 500, while the Nasdaq lost 1.6%.
Among Asian markets, the Nikkei gained 0.8%, the Hang Seng is down 1.3%, while the Shanghai Composite is down 0.2%.
On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1795 from USD1.1798 at Thursday's European close, while the pound is at USD1.3567 from USD1.3653 last night.
In commodities, Brent is trading at USD68.38 per barrel from USD67.58 per barrel on Thursday, while gold is valued at USD4,849.41 an ounce from USD4,874.52 an ounce last night.
On Friday's macroeconomic calendar, the COT Report will be released at 2030 CET, as is customary on Fridays.
Among companies on Piazza Affari, results are expected from Banca Sistema, Buzzi, and Next Re.
By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter
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