(Alliance News) - European stock markets continued to trade in positive territory, with trading floors still digesting key corporate earnings and the latest macroeconomic data, maintaining a selective approach to purchases while assessing the sustainability of market trends.
Among economic data, in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the preliminary flash estimate released Friday by Eurostat, Gross Domestic Product rose by 0.3% in the euro area. This dynamic follows a 0.3% increase in the July-September period for the euro area and 0.4% for the EU.
Thus, the Mib marked an increase of 0.6% to EUR45,325.55 points.
The CAC 40 is up 0.5%, the DAX 40 is rising 0.6%, while the FTSE 100 is advancing 0.2%.
Among the smaller indices, the Mid-Cap is up 0.7% at 60,797.09, the Small-Cap is advancing 0.5% at 37,146.58, while Italy Growth is down 0.4% at 8,761.73.
At Piazza Affari, among the few decliners is Saipem, down 1.5% at EUR3.04 per share, subject to profit taking after a seven-session upward trend.
Selling pressure also hit Fincantieri, down 3.2% after a 0.5% decline in the previous session, with shares priced around EUR16.12.
Banca Mediolanum is performing well, up 1.0% at EUR19.80 per share, bouncing back after two bearish candles.
Poste Italiane is up 0.4% at EUR22.07 per share. JPMorgan has updated its forecasts for the stock ahead of the release of fourth-quarter 2025 results, scheduled for February 26. According to the investment bank's analysis, changes to adjusted Ebit estimates are marginal, while net profit forecasts are raised by 1.5%-3.5% for the 2025-2027 period.
JPMorgan has therefore raised Poste Italiane's price target to EUR23 per share, up from the previous EUR21.50.
Campari is up 1.6%, recovering after a 0.5% decline the day before.
Generali is posting a 0.9% gain at EUR34.11 per share. Notably, Barclays has raised its price target for the stock to EUR28.00 from the previous EUR27.00.
Stellantis is appreciating by 0.2%. The company announced it will present its strategic plan during Investor Day 2026, to be held on May 21 in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
Additionally, the company is accelerating automation in its North American plants. At the Sterling Heights facility near Detroit, an artificial intelligence-based robot can complete an inventory check in about 90 minutes, a task that would otherwise require up to 280 hours of human labor. This is the Dexory V2, developed by British startup Dexory and already operational at four group sites.
In the secondary segment, Salvatore Ferragamo is up 4.5%, following a 0.2% gain the previous day and with the price around EUR6.61 per share.
Strength is also seen in another luxury stock, Safilo Group—leading the pack with an 8.9% gain—which announced Thursday that the board has reviewed the main preliminary data for fiscal year 2025, closing with sales of EUR983.4 million, up 1.8% at constant exchange rates compared to the previous year.
Avio—bullish with a 7.4% gain—announced Thursday that the board has revised upward its guidance for order backlog and net revenues for 2025. Specifically, the order backlog is expected to be in a range between EUR2.10 billion and EUR2.20 billion, compared to previous forecasts between EUR1.70 billion and EUR1.80 billion.
MAIRE—in the green by 0.7%—announced Thursday that it bought back 618,388 of its own ordinary shares between January 23 and 29. The shares were acquired at an average price of EUR14.51, for a total value of EUR9.0 million.
On the Small-Cap, SIT is up 3.5% at EUR2.69 per share, after two bearish sessions.
Altea Green Power moves ahead by 3.1%, rebounding after two bearish sessions.
Generalfinance, on the other hand, is down 0.8% at EUR24.50 per share. Intesa Sanpaolo maintains coverage on the stock, confirming a 'buy' recommendation and a target price of EUR22.10 compared to a market price of EUR24.60 at the close on January 28.
Intesa's analysis focuses on the announcement of the new POS flow factoring solution, which strengthens the company's positioning in the financial services segment dedicated to working capital.
On a negative note—among the numerous on the list—Ratti is down 3.6% at EUR1.36, following a 2.8% loss in the previous session.
Among SMEs, Cofle is down 5.2% at EUR2.92 per share, after a 5.5% rise in the previous session.
Gismondi 1754 moves up 5.0% at EUR1.58, following a double-digit gain of over 10% the day before.
Xenia Hotellerie Solution—up 1.8%—announced Friday that it reported preliminary revenues for 2025 of EUR72 million, up 26% compared to December 31, 2024, when they stood at EUR57.2 million.
Ebitda stands at EUR550,000, while investments amount to EUR10 million, as expected under the 2026 investment plan, which foresees EUR25 million invested over two years.
Novamarine—still flat, last price around EUR8.50—announced it closed 2025 with boat sales revenues of EUR32.1 million, up 23% from EUR26.1 million as of December 31, 2024. As the company explained in a note, 38 boats were sold in 2025, including two used, compared to 30 sold during 2024. The order backlog as of December 31 for boats to be delivered in 2026 amounts to EUR19.1 million.
In New York last night, the Dow Jones lost 0.1%, the Nasdaq fell 0.7%, while the S&P 500 declined 0.1%.
On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1929 from USD1.1936 at Thursday's European stock close, while the pound is trading at USD1.3765 from USD1.3778 last night.
Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD68.37 a barrel from USD70.87 a barrel on Thursday, while gold is valued at USD5,065.25 an ounce from USD5,295.34 an ounce last night.
On Friday's economic calendar, the German consumer price index is due at 1400 CET, followed at 1430 CET by Canadian GDP and the US producer price index.
By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News Reporter
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