Futures lack momentum; focus remains on Middle East

(Alliance News) - IG futures point to a slightly higher opening on Thursday, while unresolved tensions in the Middle East involving the US, Israel, and Iran remain under close scrutiny in the background.

Piazza Affari is expected to open up 0.2% or 77.5 points.

The CAC 40 is seen in fractional positive territory at 1.9 points, the DAX 40 is expected to rise 0.3% to 73.5 points, while the FTSE 100 is tipped for a fractional decline of 10.7 points.

Yesterday evening, the FTSE MIB closed fractionally lower at 48,155.82 points, the Mid-Cap shed 0.3% to 57,408.28, the Small-Cap gained 0.4% to 34,531.30, and Italy Growth posted a positive performance of 0.2% at 8,713.26.

On the blue-chip index, the session was dominated by the board elections at MPS, which ended the day up 4.7%. Luigi Lovaglio remains at the helm of Montepaschi after securing a majority at the shareholders' meeting for the renewal of the board of directors.

Support from Banco BPM and Delfin proved decisive in steering the outcome of the vote. The market largely rewarded the outgoing board's slate, in line with recommendations from proxy advisors. The new board comprises eight directors representing the majority and seven from the minority slates.

Fincantieri, which saw daily gains of 0.7%, announced that its US subsidiary has been awarded an initial USD30 million contract for material procurement and engineering activities related to the first four vessels of the Medium Landing Ship program.

Telecom Italia, up 0.8%, announced on Wednesday that its shareholders' meeting authorized a buyback plan for up to 700 million ordinary shares, with a total value of EUR400 million.

Stellantis, finishing the session 1.8% higher, reported estimated first-quarter deliveries of nearly 1.4 million vehicles, with growth across all regions. The company stated that deliveries reached a total of 1.36 million units in the three months to March 31, a 12% year-on-year increase compared to 1.22 million the previous year.

A major banking consortium is taking shape to support CVC Capital Partners' bid for Recordati, which rose 1.8%. Mediobanca, Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, JPMorgan, and Deutsche Bank are involved as both advisors and financiers for the EUR10.9 billion deal for the Italian pharmaceutical company.

In banking consolidation news, UniCredit - which recorded a 0.2% contraction - is reportedly ready to drop its appeal against the TAR ruling that halted its takeover bid for Banco BPM (up 2.9% at the bell). According to la Repubblica on Wednesday, the bank had initially decided last November to turn to the Council of State to challenge the decision of the Lazio administrative court, which in July had only partially upheld the appeal against conditions imposed by the government under Golden Power regulations.

Nexi led the gainers with a 5.8% rise, while Inwit trailed the basket, falling 3.4% to EUR7.23 per share.

On the Mid-Cap index, Minister Urso clarified the reasons for exercising Golden Power in the Pirelli case, which closed near the bottom of the list, down 1.9% at EUR5.915 per share. "What is most important for all Pirelli shareholders, workers, and the company," the minister commented, "is that they have been able to preserve their operations in the most promising market, the US, and thus compete effectively with cutting-edge technology in global competition."

Piaggio & C., which announced that its board has approved a new share buyback plan for 27 million ordinary shares with a maximum value set at EUR41.5 million, ended the session up 2.7%.

BFF Bank was the day's top performer, rising 3.0% to EUR1.89 per share, while Acea shed 2.7% to EUR22.74 per share.

On the Small-Cap index, IGD SIIQ - which closed 0.2% lower - finalized a contract fixing energy purchase prices for the 2027 financial year for 80% of its owned portfolio's requirements at an average value of EUR97 per MWh. This value is EUR2 lower than the price set for 2026, which was EUR99 per MWh for 73% of requirements.

The board of SIT - which rose 0.7% - reported a net profit of EUR1.3 million, an improvement over the EUR31.6 million loss recorded in 2024. Consolidated revenues reached EUR319.1 million, up 6.5% compared to the previous year and 7.8% at constant exchange rates.

Triboo announced on Wednesday that it closed 2025 with a loss of EUR2.3 million, improving from the negative result of EUR11.2 million in 2024. The stock fell 2.5%.

Bastogi, down 4.3%, announced that its board approved the results for the year ended December 31, 2025, reporting a profit of EUR17.8 million, up from EUR6.9 million in 2024. Total revenues were EUR63.9 million, up from EUR62.3 million in the previous twelve months.

On Italy Growth, SG Co closed the first quarter with consolidated turnover of EUR20.9 million, up from EUR14.1 million as of March 31, 2025. The contracted order backlog stands at EUR9.6 million, up from EUR4.8 million in the first quarter of 2025. The stock rose 8.9%.

Smart Capital, Smart4Tech, CrowdFundMe - which closed down 2.0% - and WeAreStarting announced that the Presidency of the Council of Ministers has ruled that the merger by incorporation of Smart4Tech and WeAreStarting into CrowdFundMe does not fall within the scope of Golden Power legislation.

Casta Diva Group achieved first-quarter revenues of EUR25.3 million, up 6.8% from EUR23.7 million in the same period of 2025. The order backlog is EUR43.9 million, in line with the previous year. The stock saw selling pressure, falling 6.4%.

Telesia announced it closed 2025 with a net profit of EUR550,000, reversing a loss of EUR190,000 as of December 31, 2024. Revenues totaled EUR13.9 million, up from EUR13.8 million last year. Its performance on the junior market was negative, down 8.5%.

In New York, the Dow Jones closed down 0.2% at 48,463.72 points, the Nasdaq rose 1.4% to 26,204.58, while the S&P 500 gained 0.8% to 7,022.95 points.

In Asia, the Nikkei is up 2.6% at 59,625.50 points, the Shanghai Composite is up 0.6% at 4,051.90, and the Hang Seng is growing 1.6% at 26,347.50 points.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1802 from USD1.1806 on Wednesday evening, while the pound is trading at USD1.3574 from USD1.3578 yesterday evening.

Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD94.76 per barrel from USD95.46 per barrel yesterday evening, while gold is worth USD4,822.03 per ounce from USD4,797.41 per ounce yesterday evening.

Thursday's macroeconomic calendar includes Italian inflation data at 1000 CEST.

From the US, jobless claims data are due at 1430 CEST, followed by US industrial production at 1515 CEST. Finally, the Federal Reserve's weekly balance sheet will be released at 2230 CEST.

On the corporate front, results are expected from Dotstay, EuroCommercial Properties, Fidia, OVS, Pirelli & C, and Tessellis.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News reporter

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