MIB rises to 44,300 points; Leonardo performs well, Buzzi slides

(Alliance News) - On Tuesday, major European indices closed higher, with Piazza Affari reaching the 44,300-point area. European stock markets improved despite Eurozone inflation hitting its highest level since January 2025 and French inflation nearly doubling in March, while German import prices fell for the eleventh consecutive month but could reverse with oil trading above USD100.

In Italy, inflation accelerated on an annual basis in March but slowed month-on-month, according to preliminary data released Tuesday by Istat. The annual index stood at 1.7% in March, up from 1.5% in February.

For the Eurozone, inflation is expected to reach 2.5% in March, up from 1.9% in February, according to Eurostat's flash estimate.

Meanwhile, WTI is closing in on Brent, with both up 50%-56% since late February as the conflict in the Middle East continues, as explained by Axel Rudolph, analyst at IG.

Consequently, the FTSE MIB closed up 1.1% at 44,309.71, the Mid-Cap gained 0.7% to 53,301.22, the Small-Cap rose 1.4% to 32,415.75, while Italy Growth retreated 0.1% to 8,284.91.

London's FTSE 100 closed 0.5% in the green, Paris's CAC 40 advanced 0.6%, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 gained 0.3%.

Returning to Milan, on Piazza Affari's blue-chip list, Leonardo led the gains, closing up 4.3% with nearly 4 million shares traded, breaking a three-session losing streak.

Prysmian followed, rising 4.0%, and Avio, up 3.0%.

Strong buying was seen on Saipem, which ended the session 2.2% higher. During Egypes 2026, the group highlighted the strategic role of the Mediterranean as a potential global gas balancing hub, supporting energy security and supply diversification.

Strength was also seen in Italgas, which closed up 0.8% at EUR10.03 per share. Bernstein raised its target price on the stock to EUR9.80 from EUR9.50 with a "market-perform" recommendation.

Stellantis performed well, up 1.1%, with 23 million shares changing hands. The group is accelerating its AI initiatives but remains under operational pressure in North America. As reported Tuesday by Milano Finanza, the group led by Antonio Filosa has renewed its partnership with Palantir for five years, active since 2016, extending the use of the Foundry platform and introducing the new AIP. The goal is to integrate data across factories, supply chain, and sales, improving decision-making and control in line with the "Data4All" strategy.

Eni - up 1.2% - announced Tuesday that Plenitude, through its subsidiary Plenitude On The Road, will contribute to the creation of the first ultra-fast charging corridor along the AP-9 in Spain, in the Galicia region.

Among the few decliners, MPS closed with a fractional loss, Inwit shed 0.7%, while Campari closed down 0.5%.

At the bottom of the main list was Buzzi - down 0.9% - which announced Tuesday that its board of directors approved the results for the 2025 financial year, closing with a profit of EUR924.1 million, a 2.0% decrease from the EUR942.5 million recorded in 2024.

The board will propose a dividend of EUR0.70 per share, in line with the one paid in May 2025. Revenues were EUR4.5 billion, up 4.8% compared to the EUR4.3 billion recorded in the previous twelve months.

On the Mid-Cap, Webuild performed well, closing 0.5% in the green. The company announced Tuesday that its subsidiary Clough was awarded a EUR116 million contract for the design and construction of "Kwinana Gas Power Generation 2", a 220 MW open-cycle gas power plant in Kwinana, 40 kilometers south of Perth, to be built for AGL Energy.

Buying returned to BFF Bank after recent declines, with the stock closing 0.5% higher.

The board of Ferretti - flat at EUR3.99 - approved the 2025 financial results on Tuesday, proposing a dividend per share of EUR0.11 and reporting a net profit of EUR90.1 million, up 2.2% compared to 2024. Last year's dividend was EUR0.10 per share.

Net revenues reached EUR1.23 billion, up 5.0% year-on-year, outperforming its reference market, as the company explained in a note.

PharmaNutra showed strength, gaining 3.6% to EUR78.70, hitting a 52-week high of EUR79.40 per share during the session.

At the bottom of the mid-cap list, Banca Ifis ended down 2.8%, marking its fourth consecutive bearish session.

On the Small-Cap, Trevi Finanziaria Industriale closed the trading session with a double-digit surge, recording a 12% rise after dropping 34% in Monday's session.

Ending at the bottom of the list at the close were OPS eCom, down 16%, and OPS Retail, in the red by 14%.

The board of Caleffi - down 0.7% - approved the 2025 results on Tuesday, recording a net profit of EUR1.8 million, up from EUR1.7 million in 2024.

Among the SMEs with the highest trading value, Casta Diva Group saw strong buying, gaining 6.2% to EUR2.74.

Directa SIM also showed strength, closing 2.0% higher at EUR7.00, after hitting a 52-week high of EUR7.08 during trading.

Valtecne - down 2.0% - announced Tuesday that it closed 2025 with a net profit of EUR3.3 million, a 31% decrease compared to the EUR4.8 million pro-forma figure for 2024, primarily due to higher depreciation and amortization related to the acquisition of Utilità.

Circle - flat at EUR10.20 - announced Tuesday that its subsidiary eXyond completed the acquisition of 100% of the share capital of QMAP, an Italian company active in the development of advanced technological solutions in the GIS - Geographic Information System - and Intelligent Transport Systems - ITS - sectors for approximately EUR1.5 million in total.

At the bottom of the alternative market, among the most traded stocks, Ecosuntek shed 6.9%.

In New York, the Dow is gaining 1.0%, the Nasdaq is advancing 1.7%, while the S&P 500 is up 1.3%.

On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1524 from USD1.1450 yesterday evening, while the pound is trading at USD1.3198 from USD1.3188 on Monday evening.

Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD107.40 per barrel from USD112.60 per barrel on Monday evening, while gold is worth USD4,610.63 per ounce from USD4,531.55 per ounce yesterday evening.

Wednesday's macroeconomic calendar opens at 0230 CEST in Japan with the manufacturing sector PMI, followed at 0345 CEST by the same data from China.

In Europe, the manufacturing PMI is expected in Spain at 0915 CEST, followed at 0945 CEST by the Italian figure, at 0950 CEST by the French data, and at 0955 CEST by the indicator for Germany.

At 1000 CEST, attention remains on Italy with the monthly unemployment rate, while the Eurozone manufacturing PMI is also expected at the same time.

At 1030 CEST, the manufacturing sector PMI will be published in the UK, followed at 1100 CEST by the Eurozone unemployment rate.

In the afternoon, at 1300 CEST in the US, the MBA 30-year mortgage rate and mortgage applications are scheduled. At 1430 CEST, retail sales will be released, followed at 1545 CEST by the manufacturing PMI index.

The day continues at 1630 CEST with crude oil inventory data and the EIA weekly refined products inventories.

No major announcements are expected from Piazza Affari companies.

By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News reporter

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