Mib Nears 45,000; STM Leads the Way

(Alliance News) – On Thursday, major European indices were trading in positive territory at midday, as investor sentiment improved following US President Donald Trump's announcements at the Davos economic forum, where he abandoned plans to impose tariffs on several European countries and ruled out the use of military force to acquire Greenland.

On Wednesday evening, Trump also announced the achievement of a framework agreement on Greenland aimed at easing tensions after talks with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

In commodities, gold – after hitting a new all-time high – hovered around USD4,830 an ounce, while Brent crude was down, trading near USD65 a barrel.

As a result, the Mib was up 1.0% at 44,947.20, the Mid-Cap gained 2.0% at 61,597.89, the Small-Cap advanced 1.6% to 37,810.99, while the Italy Growth index rose 0.1% to 8,746.07.

The CAC 40 was up 1.3% at 8,1172.93, the DAX 40 climbed 1.4% to 24,905.78, and the FTSE 100 saw buying interest, up 0.7% at 10,206.30.

In Milan, on the main listing of Piazza Affari, STMicroelectronics climbed 2.9% to top the leaderboard.

Banca Mediolanum also performed well, up 2.5%, while Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena completed the podium, gaining 2.3%.

Speculation about a possible rapprochement between UniCredit and Monte dei Paschi di Siena was cooled by Chairman Pier Carlo Padoan, who warned against "rekindled flames" and ruled out any deal with the Siena-based bank.

Meanwhile, MPS is convening its board of directors today to define the outgoing board’s slate regulations, to be submitted to the European Central Bank ahead of the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on February 4.

Hera – up 1.8% – announced on Wednesday that its board had reviewed preliminary 2025 figures, with EBITDA above EUR1.53 billion and net profit over EUR460 million, and approved the 2029 industrial plan, which foresees investments of EUR5.5 billion.

Among the decliners, Fincantieri slipped 4.3%.

UK Defence Minister John Healey will announce a GBP453 million investment to equip Typhoon fighter jets with new radar systems, safeguarding up to 1,300 jobs, with the contract awarded to a consortium led by BAE Systems, Leonardo UK, and Parker Meggitt. Leonardo dropped 1.5%.

Eni also declined, down 0.4%. On Thursday, the company announced it had signed a binding agreement with SOCAR, the state oil company of the Republic of Azerbaijan, to sell 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%.

On the Mid-Cap, Danieli & C and Ariston Holding led gains, up 7.0% and 4.9%, respectively.

MAIRE also performed well, up 4.0%. On Wednesday, the company announced its entry into the global liquefied natural gas market. Subsidiary Tecnimont signed a preliminary agreement with Argent LNG to participate in the development of an LNG export complex at Port Fourchon, Louisiana, a strategic US energy hub.

Alerion Clean Power – up 2.1% – reported that the Central Bank of Ireland had approved the prospectus for the public offering of bonds from the "Alerion Clean Power Spa Up to Euro 300,000,000 Senior Unsecured Fixed Rate Notes due 2032" bond issue.

At the bottom of the secondary index, Avio traded in negative territory, falling 3.9%. Intesa Sanpaolo maintained coverage on the stock with a 'buy' recommendation and a target price of EUR49.50.

On the Small-Cap, Borgosesia rose 1.1% after announcing Thursday the opening of the second tranche of its 2030 bond placement, for up to EUR25 million, closing on February 12 or earlier upon reaching the target.

The company noted in a statement that the bond is intended for retail and professional investors, has a 60-month term, and offers a fixed annual interest rate of 6.30%, with quarterly coupon payments.

The minimum initial subscription is EUR100,000.

At the bottom of the list, Aedes lost 4.8%.

Among SMEs, eVISO gained 1.3% after reporting that in January, paired gas volumes reached 222 GWh, equal to 20.7 million smc, according to Integrated Information System data.

This result represents a 22% increase from the 182 GWh recorded in September 2025, equivalent to an average growth of about 10 GWh per month. Year-on-year, paired volumes were up 80% compared to the 123.5 GWh posted in January 2025.

Lemon Sistemi slipped 1.9% after providing an update on the binding and irrevocable expression of interest for the sale to E2E Company Energy of a stake of about 25% in the company’s share capital.

Yolo Group dropped 0.6%. On Wednesday, the company set the terms and conditions for a paid and divisible capital increase to be offered as an option to shareholders, for a maximum amount of EUR6.0 million, including any share premium.

In New York on Wednesday, the Dow Jones gained 1.2%, as did the Nasdaq and S&P 500.

In currency markets, the euro changed hands at USD1.1692 from USD1.1697 at Wednesday's European equity close, while the pound traded at USD1.3449 from USD1.3421 on Wednesday evening.

Among commodities, Brent was trading at USD64.45 a barrel from USD64.90 on Wednesday, while gold was at USD4,831.66 an ounce from USD4,837.81 the previous evening.

On Thursday's economic calendar, US GDP data is due at 1430 CET, followed by unemployment figures.

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

By Claudia Cavaliere, Alliance News reporter

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