Buy-side pressure on MIB; Unipol and BPER lead gains

(Alliance News) - Piazza Affari opened Tuesday in contrast to other major European indices, moving into the 50,700-point range as it benefited from buying in the banking sector, which continues to dominate the narrative in Milan.

Investors remain focused on sector consolidation, with Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena at the heart of the M&A 'risiko' following moves by Banco BPM and Intesa Sanpaolo.

Consequently, the FTSE MIB advanced 1.0% to 50,721.37 points, the Mid-Cap gained 0.3% to 62,007.79 points, the Small-Cap rose 0.1% to 35,719.07 points, while Italy Growth edged up 0.1% to 9,176.32 points.

London's FTSE 100 was down 0.4%, Paris's CAC 40 rose 0.2%, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 shed 0.2%.

On the macroeconomic front, according to data released Tuesday by the German Federal Statistical Office, manufacturing output in Germany increased by 0.4% in April compared to March, in real terms and adjusted for seasonal and calendar variations.

For March, the estimate was revised to a 0.1% decline from February, compared to the preliminary reading of minus 0.7%. On an annual basis, April production was 0.5% lower than in the same month of 2025.

Returning to Milan, the banking sector remains center stage on Piazza Affari's blue-chip index.

Intesa Sanpaolo - up 1.4% - and Unipol - rising 4.5% and hitting a 52-week high of EUR22.87 - launched a EUR30.6 billion exchange and cash offer (OPAS) for Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which rose 1.1%, surpassing the merger proposal put forward by Banco BPM, up 2.0%.

The offer entails 1.6 new Intesa Sanpaolo shares and a cash component of EUR1 for each MPS share. According to the group led by Carlo Messina, the transaction would create the Eurozone's second-largest banking group by market capitalization, with EUR16 billion in profit by 2029, approximately EUR61 billion in shareholder distributions, and a customer base of 20 million.

Intesa would retain Mediobanca, 625 branches, and its 13.2% stake in Generali, while Unipol would acquire the MPS legal entity and 635 branches to be transferred to BPER Banca, which would adopt the Banca Monte dei Paschi brand.

Piazzetta Cuccia's stock gained 1.2% at the open, Generali advanced 1.2%, while BPER rose 3.6%, positioning itself among the top performers on the MIB.

The CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo reiterated that the group's interest in Generali concerns the profitability of the investment rather than the operational management or governance of the insurer.

Carlo Messina also indicated that the revitalization of Mediobanca is one of the strategic objectives of the OPAS launched by Intesa on MPS.

Banco BPM remains in the race for the Sienese bank despite the offer launched by Intesa and Unipol. The merger proposal put forward by the institution led by Giuseppe Castagna, which arrived a day before the competing bid, is now under review by the MPS board, assisted by UBS, Bank of America, BonelliErede, and White & Case.

MPS also confirmed that the integration project with Mediobanca is proceeding according to the announced plans.

Market attention is now turning to UniCredit - up 1.7% - and potential countermoves by Andrea Orcel. For the time being, however, the manager continues to reiterate that the group's priority remains the Commerzbank transaction.

Buying was seen on Azimut Holding, which rose 2.2% after announcing Tuesday, before the opening bell, that it recorded net inflows of EUR1.5 billion in May, bringing the total for the first five months of 2026 to EUR7.6 billion, or 76% of the EUR10 billion annual target.

The group's total assets rose to EUR155.7 billion, up 10.5% from the end of 2025.

Strength was noted in Stellantis, up 0.7%. The review of the trade agreement between the US, Canada, and Mexico could open a new front of uncertainty for the North American automotive industry, with Stellantis identified among the manufacturers most exposed to a potential tightening of rules.

According to reports from Reuters and the Wall Street Journal, President Donald Trump's administration intends to introduce new requirements to qualify for tariff exemptions under the USMCA.

UBS analysts highlight that Stellantis could be particularly vulnerable to these changes, as several key models, including certain Ram pickups and the Jeep Cherokee, are assembled in Mexico.

Among the laggards on the main index, Amplifon shed 0.5%, Saipem retreated 0.6%, and Avio lost 0.7%.

On the Mid-Cap, El.En. advanced 4.5% with shares pricing at EUR16.51. Stifel initiated coverage on the stock with a target price of EUR19.00 and a 'buy' recommendation.

Technoprobe ranked among the best performers in the basket with a 3.4% rise to EUR31.86, after Deutsche Bank increased its target price to EUR42.00 from EUR35.00, confirming its 'buy' rating.

Ascopiave - up 1.2% - announced Monday that the board of directors appointed director Stefano Faè as Managing Director and CEO, granting him the relevant powers.

Alerion Clean Power - down 6.4% - sat at the bottom of the mid-cap list. The company announced Monday the final results of the capital increase approved on May 21, in which 63,607 of the 5.4 million new shares offered at EUR25.00 each were subscribed, for a total value of EUR1.6 million. Settlement of the transaction is scheduled for June 10.

On the Small-Cap, Trevi Finanziaria Industriale saw trading volume exceeding EUR1 million and updated its price to EUR3.418 per share, up 1.2%.

Among the notable decliners, TXT e-solutions shed 2.0% after gaining 4.3% in the previous session.

Esprinet - down 1.0% - announced that V-Valley, a group company focused on the distribution of Advanced Solutions, signed a partnership with Avocor, an international company specializing in professional solutions for collaboration, UC&C, and workplace technology, and part of the AUO group, a global leader in display technologies.

Among other companies, BF - unchanged at EUR4.97 - announced Monday that it approved the subscription of the capital increase of its subsidiary BF International Best Fields Best Food Limited for a maximum amount of EUR350 million, as part of a broader EUR700 million recapitalization reserved half for the parent company and half for other shareholders or new investors. The subscription price was set at EUR17.50 per share.

Among SMEs with the highest turnover, Braga Moro shed 1.5% while Com.Tel advanced 4.3%.

Alfonsino - not yet traded - announced Tuesday the nationwide launch of its table reservation service and the signing of an agreement with Yo Agents, an Italian commercial hub and sales community connecting companies to a network of over 2,000 sales agents and ambassadors across the country.

Mare Engineering Group - up 1.8% - announced its entry into the capital of the startup Nido, active in autonomous unmanned systems and AI technologies, through an initial investment of EUR50,000 that will allow it to acquire a 20% stake.

Among other stocks, Clabo, with trading suspended, announced Monday that the board of directors approved the draft financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2024, and December 31, 2025.

In detail, the company reported a net loss of EUR30.5 million in 2024, up from the EUR2.0 million loss recorded in 2023. In 2025, however, the loss narrowed to EUR6.2 million.

In New York on Monday evening, the Dow lost 0.2%, the Nasdaq advanced 0.9%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.3%.

In Asia, the Nikkei closed in the green by 2.2%, the Hang Seng fell 0.2%, while the Shanghai Composite ended up 1.3%.

On the currency front, the euro changed hands at USD1.1539 from USD1.1544 on Monday evening, while the pound traded at USD1.3365 from USD1.3342 yesterday evening.

Among commodities, Brent traded at USD93.10 per barrel from USD94.65 per barrel on Monday evening, while gold was worth USD4,329.73 per ounce from USD4,331.55 per ounce at yesterday's close.

Tuesday's macroeconomic calendar includes, from the US at 1415 CEST, the ADP weekly employment change report, followed at 1430 CEST by trade balance data.

At 2230 CEST, also from the US, weekly oil inventory data will be available.

On the Piazza Affari corporate calendar, results from Homizy are expected.

By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News reporter

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