(Alliance News) - On Monday, at midday, the main Eurozone indices are moving into negative territory, with the Italian stock market confirming its position at the bottom of the Old Continent, falling below 38,900 points.

London is the only market hovering around parity, in a context dominated by escalating tensions in the Middle East, where Israel and Iran continue to exchange missiles after the massive attack launched by the US.

Meanwhile, NATO has approved a commitment to increase defense spending ahead of next week's summit, but Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has reiterated that Madrid has no intention of reaching the 5% of GDP target. US President Donald Trump has urged allies to commit to reaching that threshold during the two-day summit that begins Tuesday in The Hague.

On the macroeconomic front, the first half of 2025 ended with signs of growth in the Eurozone private sector, according to flash data from the HCOB survey published Monday by S&P Global.

In particular, the German economy showed signs of recovery, driven by the manufacturing sector. Germany's HCOB flash composite PMI rose to 50.4 in June from 48.5 in May, also exceeding consensus expectations gathered by FXStreet, which stood at 49.0. The return above the 50-point threshold confirms a return to economic growth.

As a result, the FTSE Mib is down 0.9% at 38,899.18, the Mid-Cap is down 1.0% at 52,530.16, the Small-Cap is down 1.0% at 30,485.64, while the Italy Growth is down 0.7% at 8,8073.32.

The FTSE 100 in London is down fractionally, the CAC 40 in Paris is down 0.3%, and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt is down 0.4%.

Back in Milan, on the main index of the Piazza Affari, Tenaris and Terna share the top spot, each posting gains of 0.5%.

Acquisitions continue for STMicroelectronics, one of the few stocks in the green on the Mib, which is up 0.3%, while Inwit and Enel are up 0.3% respectively.

Eni announced the sale of 20% of Plenitude to Ares Management's Alternative Credit funds for approximately EUR 2.0 billion. The agreement values Plenitude at EUR 10.0 billion and gives it an enterprise value of more than EUR 12 billion.

The transaction, which follows the previous sale of 10% to Energy Infrastructure Partners, is part of Eni's satellite model strategy.

The six-legged dog's stock rose 0.3%.

Azimut fell 1.1%, extending its opening losses. According to sources familiar with the matter and reported by Bloomberg, Andrea Pignataro's ION group intends to acquire a minority stake in a new Italian digital bank backed by private equity firm FSI SGR and asset management company Azimut Holding.

Stellantis and TIM are down 1.9% each, while BPER Banca is down 2.0%.

Banca Popolare di Sondrio also performed poorly, recording a 2.1% loss at the halfway point.

Among the losers, Leonardo fared the worst, falling 3.2%.

As for the Mid-Cap index, Fincantieri recorded the highest trading value - exceeding EUR 5.4 million at mid-session - but closed down around 4.0% at the bottom of the second tier.

Lottomatica Group also saw high trading value, extending its opening gains to 1.4%. The company announced on Wednesday that it had launched its EUR500 million buyback plan.

The plan will last for no more than 18 months and, to date, the company does not hold any treasury shares.

Webuild, down 0.2%, announced on Monday that it is organizing a roadshow with qualified Italian and international investors to assess market conditions in relation to the potential issuance of senior unsecured fixed-rate bonds.

Among small caps, Trevi Finanziaria Industriale - up 2.6% - announced on Monday that Trevi and Soilmec had been awarded contracts and orders worth a total of over EUR 140 million in April and May, increasing the group's order book at the end of May to EUR 715 million.

For the Trevi division, the company explained that it had been awarded contracts in the US, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, and Malta. The Soilmec division acquired new orders for machinery and services worth approximately EUR 36 million in the first two months of the second quarter of 2025.

Since the beginning of the year, the group has been awarded contracts and orders worth EUR 278 million.

BasicNet - up 1.2% - announced on Friday that consolidated revenue for the first quarter stood at EUR 98.3 million, down 3.3%, with direct sales declining and royalties increasing by 24%.

Pro forma EBITDA rose 2.2%, while EBIT fell 7.5% due to higher amortization related to retail expansion.

Avio fell 2.5%, with trading exceeding EUR 3.3 million.

Among SMEs, ICOP rose 1.4%. The company announced on Monday that it will participate in the construction of the westward extension of the M1 line of the Milan metro, between Bisceglie and the Olmi district.

The works entrusted to ICOP are estimated to be worth over EUR 100 million.

Reway Group fell 2.0%. On Friday, the company announced that it had entered the port infrastructure maintenance sector thanks to the award of two contracts by the Port System Authority of the Eastern Ligurian Sea, worth a total of over EUR 9 million.

Mare Engineering Group - up 0.9% - announced that on June 20, it exceeded the 10% threshold of voting rights in Eles, down 0.4% on Italia Growth.

In particular, Mare Group reached a total of 2.1 million shares, equal to 11.86% of the share capital and 11.12% of the voting rights, thus becoming the second largest shareholder of Eles in terms of voting rights.

The purchase price limit remains set at EUR2.25 per share.

Matica Fintec - flat at EUR1.65 - announced on Monday that the shareholders' meeting approved the reverse takeover aimed at acquiring 100% of Matica Corp. and 54.6% of Digital Identity Solutions Korea, through a contribution in kind by Matica Technologies Group.

In New York on Friday evening, the Dow rose 0.1%, the Nasdaq fell 0.5%, while the S&P 500 closed down 0.2%.

In Asia, the Nikkei lost 0.1%, while the Hang Seng rose 0.7%, as did the Shanghai Composite.

Among currencies, the euro traded at USD 1.1470 compared to USD 1.1513 on Friday evening, while the pound traded at USD 1.3385 from USD 1.3464 in the previous session.

Among commodities, Brent crude traded at USD 76.01 per barrel, down from USD 76.59 per barrel at the previous close, while gold was worth USD 3,381.75 per ounce, up from USD 3,366.48 per ounce at the previous close.

Monday's economic calendar includes several French BTF auctions with maturities of 3, 6, and 12 months in the afternoon, starting at 3:00 p.m. CEST, while in the US, at 3:45 p.m. CEST, it will be time for the tertiary sector PMI.

Speeches by FOMC members are scheduled for 7:10 p.m. CEST.

By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News reporter

Comments and questions to redazione@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2025 Alliance News IS Italian Service Ltd. All rights reserved.