Futures slightly up; focus on Italian macro data

(Alliance News) - The Italian stock market is expected to rise slightly at the start of trading on Friday, in a day marked by the release of important macroeconomic data for Italy and beyond.

The FTSE Mib is up 77.9 points, or 0.2%, after closing down 0.4% at 39,982.97 on Thursday.

The FTSE 100 in London is expected to rise 25.5 points, or 0.3%, the CAC 40 in Paris is expected to rise 8.4 points, or 0.1%, and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt is estimated to rise 30.3 points, or 0.1%.

Yesterday evening in Milan, the Mid-Cap lost 0.3% to 54,485.72, the Small-Cap fell 0.4% to 31,739.52, while the Italia Growth rose 0.6% to 8,083.13.

On the Mib, Pirelli and Amplifon performed best, each rising 1.1%.

Unipol closed up 1.0% at EUR17.20 per share. Barclays raised its target price for the stock to EUR17.50 from EUR16.50.

Assicurazioni Generali, down 1.5%, announced its return to the Insurance-Linked Securities market by sponsoring, through Lion Re, the issuance of a EUR200 million catastrophe bond divided into two classes. The securities will cover storm events in Europe and earthquakes in Italy for a period of four years.

Ferrari closed down 0.3%. Salesforce.com announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with the Maranello-based company to help manage customer relations.

Stellantis rose 0.6% after the appointment of Antonio Filosa as its new CEO. The decision came as expected and under the supervision of John Elkann: the board unanimously approved his appointment, entrusting him with the role previously held by Carlos Tavares until December 2024.

STMicroelectronics rose 0.8%. Yesterday's shareholders' meeting approved all the resolutions submitted to the vote, including the financial statements and dividends, but Italy voted against the indemnity for the members of the management and supervisory boards and against the confirmation of two French-appointed directors.

Leonardo was at the bottom of the main index, down 2.2%, subject to profit taking after four bullish sessions.

On the Mid-Cap index, De' Longhi performed well, rising 3.4% to EUR 29.10 after losing 1.6% the previous day. It should be noted that Barclays raised its target price on the stock to EUR 30.00 from the previous EUR 23.00.

El.En., down 0.5%, announced on Thursday that it will launch the first part of its share buyback program for a maximum of 200,000 ordinary shares for a total value of EUR 2 million.

Among the stocks at the bottom of the table, Fincantieri closed down 3.5%, its second consecutive session of decline. It should be noted that the stock has risen by around 128% since the beginning of 2025.

On the Small-Cap market, Digital Value closed the session up 2.4%.

Gefran closed down 0.5% at EUR10.65 per share. During the session, the stock hit a new high for the year at EUR10.90.

Valsoia - flat at EUR11.00 - announced the launch of the buyback program already approved by its shareholders. Under the program, which will enable the company to acquire shares to be used for stock option plans, no more than 200,000 ordinary shares may be acquired, for a maximum of EUR2.5 million.

Among the worst performers on the index, SYS-DAT fell by more than 10%. The company announced that Vittorio, Marta, and Matteo Neuroni and Emanuele Angelidis had sold 3.1 million ordinary shares in the company.

Among SMEs, Alfonsino performed well, rising 2.5%, after announcing that it had closed the first quarter with revenues of EUR 700,000, in line with the same period in 2024.

EBITDA was positive at EUR 100,000, an improvement of 131% compared to the negative figure of EUR 600,000 recorded in the first quarter of the previous year.

DBA Group - down 0.5% - announced the signing of the notarial agreement for the sale of 70% of the share capital held, directly and indirectly, in Actual IT to Telelink Business Services Group.

iVision Tech - up 2.2% - announced that iSee smart glasses have been registered with the Ministry of Health as a Class 1 medical device, in accordance with EU regulations.

The recognition certifies compliance with safety and performance requirements and allows users to access ministerial subsidies for visual impairments.

Planetel - flat at EUR4.10 - has signed a binding agreement for the acquisition of a branch of the sole proprietorship Areatech di Coletta Josef, which operates in Veneto and Lombardy in the provision of IT, TLC, and video surveillance services.

The transaction, worth EUR300,000, involves the transfer of approximately 700 business customers, one employee, and existing contracts for connectivity, maintenance, switchboards, and web hosting.

Sicily by Car - up 4.0% - announced two new international openings, scheduled for June, at the airports of Porto and Palma de Mallorca, strengthening its presence in the Iberian Peninsula.

At the bottom of the alternative stock market, Casta Diva Group lost 9.0% after announcing that it had approved its financial statements as of December 31, closing with a net profit of EUR 1.0 million compared to EUR 1.9 million in 2023.

In Asia, the Nikkei is down 0.8% to 38,111.86, the Shanghai Composite is down 0.3% to 3,353.96, and the Hang Seng is down 1.5% to 23,211.82.

Last night in New York, the Dow closed up 0.3% at 42,215.73, the Nasdaq rose 0.4% to 19,175.87 and the S&P 500 gained 0.4% to 5,912.17.

Among currencies, the euro traded at USD 1.1349 from USD 1.1366 on Thursday evening, while the pound traded at USD 1.3478 from USD 1.3487 yesterday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude traded at USD 63.94 per barrel from USD 63.38 per barrel on Thursday evening, while gold was worth USD 3,299.36 per ounce from USD 3,342.61 per ounce yesterday evening.

Friday's macroeconomic calendar includes Spanish consumer price index and producer price index data at 0900 CEST.

At 10:00 CEST, it will be Italy's turn with its Gross Domestic Product, followed at 11:00 CEST by the monthly national inflation figures.

At 2:00 p.m. CEST, Germany will take center stage again with the publication of updated consumer price index data.

In the afternoon, the spotlight will be on the US: at 2:30 p.m. CEST, data on the trade balance, consumer spending prices, annual PCE, personal income, and retail inventories excluding cars will be released.

Among the companies listed on the Italian stock exchange, Clabo, E-Globe, Giglio Group, and Vantea SMART are expected to report their results, along with Gentili Mosconi's quarterly results.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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