ECB Hikes but Bias Remains Constructive; Saipem Bullish

(Alliance News) : The MIB closed higher on Thursday, finishing just above the 50,500 level and fully recovering the previous session's losses. The performance was supported by a broadly positive European backdrop despite a more hawkish tone in monetary policy.

Equity market reaction remained constructive, as traders interpreted the European Central Bank's message as a sign of confidence in the Eurozone economy's resilience. This sentiment fueled a recovery in risk assets and bolstered the Milanese index.

The Eurotower raised interest rates by 25 basis points, in line with market expectations. While confirming an approach focused on containing inflationary pressures, the Frankfurt-based institution highlighted the deteriorating energy outlook linked to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and shipping vulnerabilities through the Strait of Hormuz.

The upward revision of inflation forecasts : now at 3.0% for 2026 and 2.3% for 2027 : reinforced expectations of a more prolonged monetary cycle than previously indicated.

Consequently, the FTSE MIB ended the session up 1.0% at 50,504.74, the Mid-Cap rose 0.6% to 61,920.24, the Small-Cap fell 0.1% to 35,710.63, and Italy Growth shed 0.4% to 9,102.95.

Elsewhere in Europe, Paris's CAC 40 closed up 0.5%, Frankfurt's DAX 40 gained 0.1%, and London's FTSE 100 climbed 0.5%.

Back in Milan, among Piazza Affari's blue chips, Saipem took the crown for the day, finishing with a 5.8% gain. This followed a more modest 0.8% rise in the previous session.

Avio showed strength, with its price rising 4.8% to €38.43 per share after three bearish sessions. Notably, Voleon Capital Management trimmed its short position on the stock to 0.99% from 1.08%.

STMicroelectronics saw its price climb 5.7% to €64.83 per share, rebounding after two consecutive lower closes.

Fincantieri : bullish with a 3.7% gain : announced Thursday that its Norwegian subsidiary, Vard, signed a contract to design and build an advanced fishery vessel for Rosund Drift AS. The Ålesund-based operator is part of an established consortium active in ocean fishing.

UniCredit, which slipped 0.3%, continues to be viewed favorably by analysts despite uncertainties surrounding ongoing consolidation efforts between Germany and Italy.

In a note by Delphine Lee, JPMorgan observed that the bank led by Andrea Orcel is nearing effective control of Commerzbank, holding a stake of approximately 41% as of June 10. Analysts suggest the market expects an improved offer to further increase its holding in the German lender.

The firm believes a potential sweetened bid would make financial sense, particularly if it allows UniCredit to exceed a 60% stake, a threshold considered significant for return on invested capital.

Telecom Italia shed 0.4% following a winning streak. The company announced Thursday that it received a refund of just over €1bn related to the 1998 concession fee. This follows a Court of Cassation ruling last December that finalized the restitution, ending a dispute lasting over twenty years. The amount includes the original fee of over €500m, plus inflation adjustments and accrued interest.

In the mid-cap segment, Moltiply Group saw strong buying interest, closing up 4.0% after two bearish sessions.

Technoprobe also performed well, advancing 4.6% and reversing a bearish trend that had lasted six sessions.

Ferretti closed flat at €3.09 per share after spending much of the session in positive territory. KKCG Maritime announced it has filed an appeal with the Court of Bologna against resolutions approved at Ferretti's May 14 shareholders' meeting, seeking an injunction to suspend them.

The group's second-largest shareholder specifically contests the vote cast by Ferretti International Holding, through which Weichai holds 39.5% of the capital, arguing that those voting rights should have been suspended under Golden Power regulations.

LU-VE gained 3.3% to €66.60 per share. Intesa Sanpaolo reiterated its 'buy' rating on the stock with a target price of €70, compared to a market price of €64.50 on June 10.

According to Intesa Sanpaolo analysts, LU-VE emerged stronger from the ISMO event in Madrid, bolstered by first-quarter results and the award of its first major multi-year data center contract with a hyperscaler, potentially worth over €100m in the first two years.

On the Small-Cap index, Beewize appreciated by 5.4% following a 2.6% loss the previous day. The stock, which has a market capitalization of just over €4.1m, closed at €0.39 per share.

Tesmec rose 4.3%. The stock, which has not paid a dividend since 2016, followed up on the previous day's 10% gain.

The Italian Sea Group, however, fell 14%, rebounding after seven consecutive downward sessions and resetting its price at €1.51 per share.

Eurotech dropped 3.5%, marking its third consecutive bearish candle to close at €1.25. On the MarketScreener platform, based on two analysts, the stock has an average target price of €1.175, suggesting it remains undervalued with a mean consensus of 'buy'.

Among SMEs, Fope pushed its shares up over 11% to €57.00, hitting a new 52-week high of €57.50 during trading.

FAE Technology, up 4.2%, announced Thursday the creation of 'SuperFAE', a new industrial hub in Cene, Bergamo. It is set to become the group's primary production site and one of Italy's largest facilities dedicated to high-tech electronics manufacturing. The project involves the redevelopment of the former Zambaiti cotton mill and the centralization of activities currently spread across the Gazzaniga and Vertova plants.

Poligrafici Printing, which did not trade today and last priced at €0.48, announced Wednesday that its shareholders' meeting appointed a new board of directors for the 2026 and 2027 fiscal years, through the approval of the 2028 financial statements. The appointment followed the single list submitted by Monrif, the controlling shareholder. Andrea Leopoldo Riffeser Monti was named chairman, while Nicola Natali will take the role of CEO.

Franchetti, down 5.3%, announced Wednesday that its board resolved to propose to an extraordinary shareholders' meeting, tentatively scheduled by July 5, a mandate to increase share capital by up to €10m, including any share premium, to be exercised within three years.

In New York, the Dow is advancing 0.7%, the Nasdaq is up 0.6%, and the S&P 500 is gaining 0.4%.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at $1.1520, down from $1.1553 on Wednesday evening, while the pound is at $1.3338, down from $1.3381 yesterday.

In commodities, Brent crude is trading at $93.19 per barrel, up from $90.83 on Wednesday evening, while gold is valued at $4,079.48 per ounce, down from $4,268.60 at yesterday's close.

Friday's macroeconomic calendar includes Japanese industrial production data at 0630 CEST.

At 0800 CEST, German inflation data will be released. At the same time, the UK is expected to release figures for manufacturing production, industrial production, and the trade balance.

From the US, at 1900 CEST, attention turns to Baker Hughes rig count data, while at 2130 CEST : as is customary on Fridays : the COT Report will be published.

No major corporate announcements are expected from Piazza Affari companies.

By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter

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