European markets set for lower open; focus on manufacturing PMIs

(Alliance News) - On Thursday, major European indices are expected to move into negative territory, weighed down by rising bond yields and persistent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

In Europe, Eurozone inflation rose to 3% in April, while in the UK, the slowdown in prices was primarily driven by government energy measures.

Meanwhile, Fed minutes show a growing openness to further rate hikes, with markets now pricing in a more than 50% probability of a tightening by December, explains Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Senior Analyst at Swissquote.

Enthusiasm for artificial intelligence continues to support equity markets, particularly in Asia, but investors are looking with increasing concern at the deteriorating macroeconomic picture. Nvidia continues to surprise the market, beating expectations for the 14th consecutive quarter with revenue exceeding USD81 billion, up 20% from the previous quarter and 85% year-on-year.

Oil fell 5% following Donald Trump's comments on a possible deal with Iran, but the decline could prove temporary after a 17.8 million barrel plunge in US crude inventories, the largest since 1982. A new spike in energy prices would risk further fueling inflation expectations.

This morning, the focus shifts to manufacturing PMI data from major European economies.

Consequently, the FTSE MIB is called down 0.1% or approximately 50.0 points after closing Wednesday up 1.7% at 49,181.66.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 is expected to open 0.3% lower, Paris's CAC 40 is indicated down 0.2%, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 is expected in the red by 0.2%.

In Milan yesterday evening, the Mid-Cap rose 1.6% to 60,953.18, the Small-Cap advanced 1.3% to 34,490.95, while Italy Growth edged up 0.1% to 8,812.12.

On the MIB in Piazza Affari, STMicroelectronics showed strength, gaining 6.0% and rebounding after three bearish sessions.

UniCredit gained 2.6%. The opposition to UniCredit is consolidating around Commerzbank. As reported Wednesday by Il Sole 24 Ore, a demonstration of support for the German bank's independence took place at the Commerzbank shareholders' meeting in Wiesbaden, featuring 'We own yellow' slogans and 'UniCredit go away' signs, amid a climate marked by hostility toward UniCredit's exchange offer.

Stellantis - up 1.3% - announced Wednesday that, together with Jaguar Land Rover, it has signed a memorandum of understanding to evaluate collaboration opportunities in product development in the US. Under the terms of the non-binding MoU, the two companies will assess potential synergies in product and technology development, leveraging their complementary expertise to create value for both organizations.

Lottomatica Group - down 0.6% - announced Wednesday that it repurchased 250,244 of its own ordinary shares between May 11 and May 15. The shares were purchased at an average unit price of EUR26.2668, for a total consideration of approximately EUR6.6 million.

On the Mid-Cap, Danieli & C advanced 7.0% to EUR69.55, recovering after three down sessions.

LU-VE rose 3.7%, following a 4.4% decline in the previous session, finishing near EUR67.50 per share.

MAIRE - up 4.3% - announced Wednesday new contract awards and additional work on previously announced orders totaling approximately EUR1.3 billion, with projects located in Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

Pirelli advanced 0.8%. Notably, the company announced Tuesday that the shareholders' agreement signed on May 16, 2022, between China National Chemical Corporation Limited, China National Tire & Rubber Corporation, CNRC International, Fourteen Sundew, Marco Polo International Italy, Camfin, and Marco Tronchetti Provera & C. expired on May 18 at the end of its three-year term. The agreement, effective from May 19, 2023, concerned, among other things, Pirelli's governance.

Ferretti - up 1.2% - announced Tuesday that it recorded a decline in first-quarter profit to EUR23.9 million from EUR21.0 million in the same period of 2025, down 12%. New net revenues amounted to EUR302.1 million from EUR328.5 million, down 8.0%. Ebitda decreased by 7.1% to EUR48.7 million from EUR52.5 million in the same period of 2025.

On the Small-Cap, doValue closed up 6.2% at EUR2.23 per share, following two bearish sessions.

Trevi Finanziaria - up 5.4% - announced Tuesday that on May 25 it will proceed with a reverse stock split at a ratio of one new share for every 20 existing shares. Specifically, the company stated that the 312.3 million existing ordinary shares will be consolidated into 15.6 million new ordinary shares, while share capital will remain unchanged at EUR123.1 million.

Aedes - down 0.5% - also announced Tuesday that on May 25 it will execute a reverse stock split at a ratio of one new ordinary share for every 10 ordinary shares held. The company will consolidate 128.1 million existing ordinary shares into 12.8 million new ordinary shares.

Itway, however, fell 4.6%, following a 6.9% gain in the previous session.

Among SMEs, Farmacosmo showed strength, gaining 4.6% to EUR0.4140, rebounding after three down sessions.

Officina Stellare - up 3.1% - announced that it closed 2025 with a net profit of EUR1.8 million, up 81% from EUR1.0 million as of December 31, 2024. The value of production in 2025 reached EUR26.6 million, up 21% from EUR22.0 million the previous year.

eVISO - up 2.0% - announced Wednesday its results for the third quarter and nine months. Specifically, from January to March, revenues were EUR97.8 million, compared to EUR86.3 million in the corresponding period of the previous year, a 13% increase.

ATON Green Storage - down 2.6% - released first-quarter data on Wednesday, showing orders of EUR6.6 million, a 55% increase compared to 2025: a figure that 'is positioned above the forecast budget', the company emphasized. Turnover reached EUR5.9 million, a 10% increase over the same period last year, while the '.one' solutions division stood out with EUR440,000 in sales, a 17% increase.

In New York on Wednesday evening, the Dow gained 1.3%, the Nasdaq advanced 1.5%, while the S&P 500 rose 1.1%.

In Asia, the Nikkei is up 3.3%, the Hang Seng is down 0.6%, while the Shanghai Composite is down 1.1%.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1619 from USD1.1628 on Wednesday evening, while the pound is trading at USD1.3430 from USD1.3450 yesterday evening.

Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD106.80 per barrel from USD105.50 per barrel on Wednesday evening, while gold is worth USD4,525.15 per ounce from USD4,535.86 per ounce at yesterday's close.

Thursday's economic calendar: due at 0915 CEST, manufacturing PMI data from France, followed by Germany and the UK.

At 1430 CEST, jobless claims data will arrive from the US, while at 1545 CEST it will be the turn of manufacturing and services PMIs.

In the evening, at 2230 CEST, the Federal Reserve's weekly balance sheet will be released.

On the corporate calendar, results are expected from Dotstay, Expert.ai, Laboratorio Farmaceutico Erfo, Met.Extra Group, and Softlab.

By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News reporter

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