Sell-side pressure prevails on MIB; STM ends at the tail end

(Alliance News) - On Friday, major European indices finished mixed, with Piazza Affari falling below 50,000 points while London stood out as the only exchange in the Old Continent above par.

Consequently, the FTSE Mib closed down 0.6% at 49,893.05 points, the Mid-Cap lost 0.9% to 61,540.98 points, the Small-Cap fell 0.8% to 35,257.63 points, while Italy Growth advanced 0.3% to 9,168.52 points.

London's FTSE 100 closed up 0.1%, Paris's CAC 40 retreated 0.3%, while Frankfurt's DAX 40 lost 0.7%.

U.S. markets also traded lower after the U.S. labor market report showed employment growth well above expectations. According to Axel Rudolph, analyst at IG, the U.S. employment data triggered profit-taking across equity markets.

The U.S. economy added 172,000 jobs in May, well above forecasts of 85,000, and following an upwardly revised increase of 179,000 jobs in the previous month, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Job growth was concentrated in the leisure and hospitality, local government, and healthcare sectors. Employment in the financial sector declined.

On the commodities front, oil recorded a second consecutive session of decline despite the lack of progress in peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.

However, crude prices still ended the week in positive territory. Weakness was more pronounced in precious metals, with gold and silver falling to two-month lows, penalized by the strengthening of the greenback.

Investor attention now shifts to U.S. inflation data scheduled for next week and the European Central Bank meeting, from which the market almost certainly expects the first interest rate hike in three years.

Returning to Milan, on Piazza Affari's blue-chip list, Inwit outperformed all others, finishing at the top with a 3.3% gain and over 2 million shares traded, following Thursday's positive performance.

Caisse De Depot Et Placement Du Quebec cut its short position on Inwit to 0.56% from 0.68%.

Solid buying was seen on Italgas and Campari, which closed in the green by 3.1% and 2.0% respectively.

Bullish momentum for Hera - up 2.1% - which presented its 2029 industrial plan on Friday to the mayors of the 25 municipalities served in the Rimini area, confirming strategic pillars related to development, resource regeneration, carbon neutrality, resilience, and shared value creation.

In the 2025-2029 period, the multi-utility will invest over EUR5.5 billion, of which EUR250 million in the province of Rimini, an increase of approximately EUR36 million compared to the previous 2024-2028 plan.

A step forward for Terna, up 1.8%, which announced on Thursday the renewal of its EMTN bond issuance program, increasing the maximum aggregate amount to EUR6 billion from EUR4 billion.

Progress for Fincantieri stock, which moved forward by 1.7% in the final session of the week.

Telecom Italia performed well - up 0.2% - announcing on Friday that it has strengthened its collaboration with Dazn ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with a new agreement expanding access to tournament content. TIM customers can now subscribe to the Dazn World Cup Pass, according to the company's statement.

FinecoBank closed up 0.2% at EUR20.94. Berenberg raised its target price to EUR27.00 from EUR26.50 with a 'buy' recommendation.

Among the decliners, Stellantis shed 3.2%, erasing Thursday evening's gains. The group announced on Friday the expansion of decarbonized energy use in its European plants, where 68% of electricity consumption is already covered by low-emission sources.

The group aims to bring on-site energy self-consumption to 31% of total requirements by 2026, with the most advanced sites capable of reaching levels up to 80%.

Selling pressure also hit Prysmian, which retreated 3.5% in its third bearish session.

STMicroelectronics placed at the bottom of the main list, falling 5.9% after losing 2.6% yesterday evening. STM recorded trades totaling EUR244.2 million.

On the Mid-Cap, ERG fared well, closing the session up 5.9% at EUR24.64 per share after Kepler Cheuvreux upgraded the stock to 'buy' and raised the target price to EUR27.00 from EUR24.00.

Good buying on d'Amico, which advanced 3.1%, rebounding after the previous day's decline.

A step back for Salvatore Ferragamo, which finished down 1.1% at EUR9.20. Notably, Barclays revised its target price on the stock to EUR5.70 from EUR5.50 with an 'underweight' rating.

Technoprobe recorded the highest turnover in the basket, ending down 4.3%.

At the bottom of the mid-cap list was LU-VE, falling 5.4% in its third bearish session.

On the Small-Cap, Olidata closed the session with double-digit gains, rising 13%.

Triboo - down 2.0% - announced on Thursday that the new board of directors confirmed Giulio Corno as CEO, granting executive powers for ordinary management, and also confirmed the powers already attributed to Chairman Riccardo Maria Monti during the previous mandate.

Bearish pressure on Trevi Finanziaria Industriale, down 3.5%. The company announced Friday that Consob has approved Trevifin's prospectus for a rights issue of up to EUR100 million.

The company's board of directors set the offer price at EUR2.00 per new share - of which EUR1.95 is share premium - a value that incorporates a 34.94% discount to the theoretical ex-rights price.

Aeroporto Guglielmo Marconi Di Bologna - down 0.7% - announced at the close of trading that 1.1 million passengers passed through in May, an increase of 2.9% compared to the same month last year.

EPH ended down 9.5%, snapping a four-session uptrend.

Among the SMEs with the highest turnover, Espe advanced 1.7%, eVISO closed in the green by 1.6%, while ICOP finished up 3.0%.

Kruso Kapital - down 1.0% - announced Friday that it has completed the acquisition of a pawn credit portfolio from a historic Ligurian operator, a transaction that adds approximately EUR1.6 million in loans and about 800 customers to the company's network.

Selling on iVision Tech, which fell 0.8% - it announced Friday that through Henry Jullien's e-commerce, sales of the Pacific S 01 model exceeded 1,000 units. The eyewear has captured international media attention in recent months due to its use by French President Emmanuel Macron during the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Longino & Cardenal - down 2.6% - announced Friday the launch of a share buyback and disposal program following authorization granted by the shareholders' meeting on April 27.

The company has allocated a maximum value of EUR200,000 to the program.

Among the stocks at the bottom of the alternative list, Ecomembrane shed 4.6%. The company announced Friday that SBS Solar, 55% owned, received an order for approximately EUR1.0 million under a framework agreement announced in 2024 with a major energy operator.

In New York, the Dow shed 0.6%, the Nasdaq was down 2.3%, while the S&P 500 was in the red by 1.4%.

On the currency front, the euro changed hands at USD1.1534 from USD1.1624 on Thursday evening, while the pound traded at USD1.3358 from USD1.3436 yesterday evening.

Among commodities, Brent traded at USD93.43 a barrel from USD94.91 a barrel on Thursday evening, while gold was worth USD4,340.09 an ounce from USD4,463.10 an ounce at yesterday's close.

Monday's macroeconomic calendar opens at 0150 CET in Japan with the release of GDP data.

In Europe, German factory orders data is expected at 0800 CET, while the Eurozone Sentix investor confidence index will be released at 1030 CET.

In the afternoon, at 1500 CET, France will hold three BTF auctions with 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month maturities.

The day will close at 1730 CET in the U.S. with 3-month and 6-month Treasury Bill auctions.

Among Piazza Affari companies, no particular announcements are expected.

By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News reporter

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