European Markets Set to Open Lower After New US Tariffs

(Alliance News) - European stock markets are expected to open lower on Friday, according to IG futures, with Milan's Piazza Affari and Frankfurt's DAX forecast to be the weakest performers among the continent's main indices. London's FTSE, meanwhile, is seen hovering around the flatline.

On the trade front, US President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he is considering introducing a 15% or 20% tariff from August 1 on countries that have not yet received specific notifications. After sending letters to numerous trade partners this week, Trump outlined tariffs ranging from 20% to 50%--in Brazil's case--with implementation set for early August.

Meanwhile, Canada and Mexico are seeking an agreement with Washington to preserve the USMCA free trade pact. Canada is expected to face a 35% tariff on exports to the US.

In Italian banking consolidation, BPER Banca has surpassed the 35% capital threshold in Popolare di Sondrio, confirming the success of its public exchange offer on the eve of the deadline.

UniCredit, meanwhile, has reached 20% of voting rights in Commerzbank, but CEO Andrea Orcel's ambitions to create a European banking champion face opposition from the German government.

According to Der Spiegel, Berlin has formally requested UniCredit to withdraw. "We expect UniCredit to abandon its acquisition attempt," said Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, reiterating support for a "systemic and independent" Commerzbank.

The FTSE Mib is indicated down 0.5%, or by 197.5 points, after closing Thursday down 0.7% at 40,528.17 points.

Across Europe, London's FTSE 100 is seen fractionally lower, down 1.0 point; Paris's CAC 40 is forecast to drop 0.3% or 22.9 points; and Frankfurt's DAX 40 is expected to fall 0.5% or 127.7 points.

Among other indices, the Mid-Cap ended Thursday up 0.4% at 55,520.50, the Small-Cap shed 0.3% to 32,332.74, and the Italy Growth index slipped 0.4% to 8,256.28.

In Milan, among blue chips, STMicroelectronics led the pack, climbing 4.3% to €28.275 after buying back over €5 million of its own shares in recent days.

Campari extended its positive momentum, gaining 3.2% in another bullish session.

Stellantis also performed well, rising 3.4% to €9.005 per share.

Terna, which signed a three-year memorandum of understanding with Ukrainian grid operator NPC Ukrenergo, ended down 0.8% at €8.3960 per share. Additionally, the company announced that EIB, SACE, and Intesa will finance the Adriatic Link with €1.5 billion: the new submarine power line will connect Marche and Abruzzo. Intesa Sanpaolo closed down 0.9%.

In the utilities sector, Snam signed a memorandum with GTSOU to strengthen synergy between the Ukrainian and Italian gas markets, aiming to boost long-term energy security, regional integration, and sustainability. The stock slipped 0.7%.

Leonardo, ENAV, and the Ukrainian State Air Traffic Services Enterprise signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to support the restoration and enhancement of Ukraine's civil air navigation infrastructure. Leonardo shares fell 0.7%, while ENAV rose 0.5%.

Plenitude, a subsidiary of Eni, announced Thursday the start of construction on a new energy community in partnership with Nuova Simplast. The stock closed up 0.2%.

TIM, down 2.2%, has boosted its liquidity to support new strategies and strengthen ties with Poste Italiane, now its largest shareholder with a 24.8% stake. Poste Italiane shares ended the session down 0.7%.

On the banking front, the informal intervention by the European Commission on UniCredit gave the stock a boost yesterday, but it fell victim to profit-taking today, losing 2.9%.

In the Mid-Cap segment, LU-VE led the basket with a 6.4% gain to €32.60 per share. According to released figures, second-quarter product revenue reached €157.1 million, a 3.7% increase year-on-year.

NewPrinces also performed well, rising 5.8% after signing a binding agreement with Heinz Italia to acquire 100% of its Italian baby and specialty food operations.

Pier Silvio Berlusconi has opened the door to all scenarios regarding the Prosiebensat dossier, including a possible deal with Czech rival PPF--but only after the conclusion of takeover bids and provided it aligns with MFE's pan-European project. MFE A rose 0.8%, and MFE B gained 0.3%.

GVS ended at the bottom, falling 2.8% to €5.28 per share.

Among small caps, I Grandi Viaggi posted the best performance, up 6.9%.

Tessellis, which closed down 2.9%, hit a new 52-week low at €0.1004.

Softlab, which topped the charts yesterday, reached a new 52-week high at €1.45 but closed down 3.1%.

Fidia announced the appointment of Luca Carante, already Chief Financial Officer, as investor relations manager effective July 9. The stock ended down 1.2%.

Seco landed at the bottom, losing 4.3% after the official launch of the "SECO Application Hub," a new app marketplace designed to radically simplify the development and deployment of artificial intelligence on edge devices.

On the Italy Growth index, Deodato.Gallery surged 5.2% to €0.366 per share.

4AIM Sicaf delivered a strong performance, up 7.6% to €57.00 per share.

Bellini Nautica, which expanded its dealer network in Switzerland and Slovenia, gained 2.1%.

Ilpra launched a new buyback plan for up to €1.5 million. As of now, the company holds 215,400 ordinary shares, representing 1.8% of its share capital. The stock closed flat at €5.15 per share.

Gambero Rosso closed up 4.9% to €0.246 per share.

Innovatec ended trading up 11%, marking its sixth consecutive double-digit gain. On Wednesday, the company announced that subsidiary Innovatec Energy signed a turnkey EPC contract with Elios Sei worth about €4.1 million. Borsa Italiana announced that from July 10, until further notice, it will not be possible to place unlimited price orders on Innovatec ordinary shares.

On Wall Street Thursday evening, the Dow closed up 0.4%, the Nasdaq rose 0.1%, and the S&P 500 added 0.3%.

In Asia, the Nikkei is down 0.3%, the Shanghai Composite is up 0.5%, and the Hang Seng is up 1.7%.

In currency markets, the euro is trading at USD1.1679 from USD1.1682 at Thursday's close, while the pound is at USD1.3545 from USD1.3556 last night.

Among commodities, Brent crude trades at USD68.89 from USD68.97 a barrel at the previous close, while gold is valued at USD3,346.10 from USD3,320.13 an ounce last night.

On Friday's economic calendar, at 0845 CEST, attention turns to wholesale prices in France.

At 1000 CEST, the International Energy Agency's monthly report on the US oil market is due.

Italy will hold auctions for three-, seven-, and 15-year BTPs at 1110 CEST.

No significant company announcements are expected from Piazza Affari.

By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News Reporter

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