(Alliance News) – On Friday, European stock markets opened mixed, with profit-taking and investor caution prevailing amid geopolitical uncertainties surrounding the US, following threats and subsequent backtracking by Donald Trump regarding tariffs and Greenland.

Piazza Affari is the worst performer among the major exchanges, slipping below Thursday's close and hovering around 44,800 points, while London is trading in positive territory.

The BTP-Bund spread widened by 1.7% at the start of trading, reaching 62 points.

Gold continues its run toward new records, now just a whisker away from the USD5,000 per ounce threshold.

"We all know the gold bull run is mature and, at some point, is bound for a pause or even a sharp pullback. Yet, gold purchases in all its forms have been relentless," explains Chris Weston, analyst at Pepperstone.

Geopolitical tensions are also supporting oil prices, with Brent and WTI both advancing in early European trading.

On the macroeconomic front, preliminary data released Friday by S&P Global and compiled with Hamburg Commercial Bank shows Germany's manufacturing PMI rose to 48.7 in January, up from 47.0 in December and above market expectations of 47.8. The latest reading signals a moderation in the pace of contraction for the manufacturing sector.

Thus, the FTSE Mib is down 0.6% at 44,818.98, the Mid-Cap is off 0.7% at 61,156.21, the Small-Cap slips 0.2% to 37,810.89, while Italy Growth edges up 0.1% to 8,782.89.

London's FTSE 100 is up 0.1%, Paris's CAC 40 slips 0.2%, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 declines 0.1%.

Back in Milan, on the blue-chip list, Saipem leads at the open, climbing 2.6% to EUR2.906 per share and hitting a new 52-week high.

Fincantieri and Leonardo are also recovering, up 1.7% and 0.9%, respectively.

Eni, up 0.4%, announced Thursday it had signed a binding agreement with SOCAR, the state oil company of the Republic of Azerbaijan, for the sale of a 10% stake in the Baleine project. This is the main offshore development in Ivory Coast, operated by Eni with a 47.25% stake, with Vitol holding 30% and Petroci 22.75%.

Buzzi slips 0.8% to EUR50.40 per share, after closing Thursday up 3.9%. Notably, Goldman raised its target price on the stock to EUR53.00 from EUR52.00, maintaining a neutral rating.

FinecoBank is under pressure, down 0.8%, after the bank announced Thursday that its board of directors will ask shareholders for authorization to launch a buyback plan for up to 666,425 ordinary shares, to be allocated to 2026 incentive schemes for key personnel.

Among the decliners is STMicroelectronics, down 0.5% at EUR24.525 per share. Berenberg raised its target price to EUR29.00 from EUR26.00, with a buy recommendation.

Banking sector stocks are also down, with BPER Banca and Popolare di Sondrio both off 0.9%, Intesa Sanpaolo down 0.8%, and UniCredit falling 0.7%.

Monte Paschi di Siena is in the spotlight but in negative territory, down 1.4%. The future of CEO Luigi Lovaglio on MPS's board remains uncertain. The Siena-based bank's board, chaired by Nicola Maione, has yet to finalize the rules for forming the board list ahead of the renewal of governing bodies, despite the shareholder meeting to elect the new board being called for April 15.

At the bottom of the main list is Prysmian, down 1.5% at the open, with nearly 100,000 shares changing hands.

On the Mid-Cap, Philogen and GVS lead the gains, up 1.9% and 1.3%, respectively.

Avio is performing well, advancing 1.4% to EUR36.35, after dropping 7.2% Thursday, marking its third consecutive bearish session. On the MarketScreener platform, the stock is given an average target price of EUR43.40, based on estimates from five analysts, leaving room for further upside.

Pirelli & C, down 0.5%, announced Friday it had signed new five-year committed multicurrency bank lines totaling EUR2.1 billion with a pool of leading national and international banks.

Webuild rises 0.4% after announcing that the contract for the extension of Riyadh Metro's Red Line is worth a total of USD2.75 billion. The project, commissioned by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, will be carried out by a consortium led by Webuild with a 30.1% stake, equal to about USD830 million, alongside L&T, NESMA, and ALSTOM.

Anima Holding, down 0.2%, announced that the process of co-opting a new board member and appointing a new CEO is underway according to internal procedures and corporate governance practices. As part of this process, the company has received a nomination from Banco BPM Group, its main shareholder, which is down 0.8% on the Mib, for the role.

At the bottom of the secondary list is Caltagirone, down 3.8%.

On the Small-Cap, Seco outperforms all at the open, up 6.6%, after announcing that Seco USA Inc. and Boeing have obtained project certification for the Deck Control Device of the MQ-25A Stingray, an unmanned aerial refueling platform destined for US Navy aircraft carriers.

On the opposite end of the list, Zucchi slides 7.6% at the open, after rising 0.6% in yesterday's session.

Trevi Finanziaria Industriale is up 1.1%, with trading volumes approaching EUR500,000.

FILA is down 1.5%, after rising 2.6% in the previous session.

Among SMEs, iVision Tech soars into double digits, advancing 10%, after posting a 31% gain in the previous session.

Among the most traded stocks by turnover, Confinvest stands out, up 5.4%, marking its third consecutive session of gains.

Grifal, down 1.6%, announced that its board of directors has reviewed preliminary consolidated revenues for 2025, amounting to EUR35.5 million, down 5.8% from EUR37.7 million in 2024.

SG Co rises 2.1%. The company announced Thursday that Borsa Italiana has approved the listing of up to 9.6 million warrants maturing in 2031, with trading set to begin on January 26.

Predict, with no trades, announced Thursday it has been awarded, through direct assignment, a EUR55,500 supply contract for ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda in Milan, aimed at implementing a tele-ultrasound system for remote clinical support.

At the tail end of the alternative list is CrowFundMe, down 14%, albeit with limited trading volumes.

In New York on Thursday, the Dow Jones gained 0.6%, as did the S&P 500, while the Nasdaq closed up 0.9%.

In Asia, the Nikkei closed up 0.3%, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.3%, and the Hang Seng finished up 0.5%.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1740 from USD1.1742 at Thursday's close in European equity markets, while the pound is trading at USD1.3494 from USD1.3492 Thursday evening.

Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD64.69 a barrel from USD64.21 a barrel on Thursday, while gold is valued at USD4,916.59 an ounce from USD4,877.20 an ounce yesterday evening.

On Friday's economic calendar, the US manufacturing PMI will be released at 1445 CET, while the COT Report is due at 2030 CET.

The Fed's balance sheet is expected at 2230 CET.

Among Piazza Affari companies, Marzocchi Pompe's results are awaited.

By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News reporter

Comments and questions to redazione@alliancenews.com

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