(Alliance News) – Tariffs and statements from Donald Trump once again took center stage on Tuesday, influencing major global and European markets during a session marked by timid buying activity.

The former president announced new tariffs as high as 250% on pharmaceuticals, clearly aiming to boost domestic production. Similarly, Trump threatened to further increase tariffs on the EU–up to 35%–should the agreed investments from the continent fail to materialize.

The FTSE Mib closed up 0.1% at 40,743.52 points, the Mid-Cap rose 1.0% to 55,709.54, the Small-Cap gained 0.4% to 32,513.20, and the Italy Growth index ended the session up 0.5% at 8,298.20 points.

Across Europe, Paris’s CAC 40 slipped 0.1%, Frankfurt’s DAX 40 climbed 0.4%, and London’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.2%.

In an exclusive interview with Alliance News, private banker Paolo Cardenà commented on the latest surprising U.S. employment data: “Markets reacted immediately. Yields on the 10-year Treasury dropped significantly, reflecting increased expectations of potential expansionary action from the Fed. If further signs of macroeconomic weakness emerge–or worse, a recession–yields could fall even further.”

Cardenà added: “If no new signs of cyclical weakness emerge and the Fed nevertheless cuts rates due to political pressure, it’s possible that yields on the long end of the curve could rise.”

On the FTSE Mib, Amplifon rebounded, climbing 4.3% to EUR15.07 per share after the company bought back over a million of its own shares, continuing its buyback program.

Ferrari shares rose 2.3% to EUR386.90, with over 13,000 contracts signed and about 284,000 shares traded during the session.

Banca Popolare di Sondrio posted a 28% increase in profit but closed slightly down at EUR11.73 per share.

Monte dei Paschi di Siena fell 1.2% as it considers possible responses to Mediobanca’s move–up 0.8%–to bring forward to August 21 the meeting for the public exchange offer (OPS) on Banca Generali, which ended the session among mid-caps up 0.2%.

As reported by Milano Finanza, the move aims to approve agreements between Generali, Banca Generali, and Mediobanca–a necessary condition for the operation.

UniCredit, which slipped 0.2%, reached a settlement ending two international arbitrations related to the major sale of non-performing loans under Project Fino. The final solution: both parties waive all further claims.

Banca Mediolanum successfully passed the ECB’s stress tests, marking a second consecutive positive session with a 1.0% gain.

In China, fierce competition in the automotive market benefited Leapmotor–backed by Stellantis–which sold 50,129 vehicles in July alone. In Italy, the company recorded 371 registrations. Stellantis shares closed up 0.2%.

Buzzi’s results, with profits down 7.6%, weighed on the stock, which ended at the bottom of the list with a drop of 8.7%.

The best performance on the Mid-Cap came from Avio, which set a new 52-week high, soaring 11% to EUR33.85 per share.

WIIT, buoyed by strong half-year results and a sharp increase in profits compared to the same period in 2024, topped the list with a 5.6% gain.

Anima Holding continues its growth: the company reported a positive net inflow of EUR416 million in managed savings for July, bringing year-to-date inflows to EUR1.82 billion. The stock rose 0.6%.

Fincantieri–up 4.4%–announced Tuesday that its Norwegian subsidiary Vard, a leader in building special vessels, signed a new contract with North Star, the UK’s leading shipowner, for the design and construction of two hybrid Service Operation Vessels.

Banco Desio Brianza closed at the bottom of the list with a 9.6% loss, alongside MARR, which dropped 7.1% after reporting falling profits and revenues.

Caltagirone reported a net profit of EUR130.8 million for the first half, down from EUR143.6 million in the same period of 2024. However, group net profit rose 3.0% to EUR78.5 million compared to EUR76.2 million in the first half of 2024. The stock closed up 1.4%.

On the Small-Cap index, Softlab reclaimed the top spot for the second straight session, surging 29% to EUR1.1750 per share.

Bestbe Holding bounced back into the leading group with a 9.9% jump.

IGD SIIQ, which returned to profit in the first half with a net profit of EUR10.6 million (after a loss of EUR32.5 million in the same period of 2024), posted a 0.3% increase.

Gefran reported revenues rising to EUR72.2 million from EUR68.5 million a year earlier. The stock ended flat at EUR10.40.

At the bottom were Triboo, down 4.4%, followed by Aedes, down 3.3%.

Among SMEs, Mare Group, up 0.6%, surpassed 29% of Eles’s share capital and 28% of voting rights–Eles was down 1.8%–following its partial public takeover and exchange offer for the company.

On Monday night, Palingeo announced that the majority of its board of directors had resigned. The stock ended flat at EUR6.0.

ICOP–down 1.6%–meanwhile announced that regarding its binding agreement to acquire a 62% stake in Palingeo, the Italian Prime Minister’s Office informed the company that, based on the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport’s findings, the deal does not fall under the scope of the Golden Power regulation.

Tecno Holding–down 4.3%–announced Tuesday it had signed binding agreements with Advent International and Nextalia SGR to sell its 38.7% stake in Tinexta–up 1.6%–at EUR15 per share, for a total of about EUR267 million.

In New York, during the European evening, the Dow Jones was down 0.4%, as were the Nasdaq and the S&P500, both falling 0.4%.

On the currency front, the euro traded at USD1.1576 from USD1.1574 at Monday’s close, while the pound traded at USD1.3305 from USD1.3294 yesterday evening.

Among commodities, Brent crude traded at USD68.07 from USD69.14 a barrel at the previous close, while gold was valued at USD3,383.88 from USD3,372.34 per ounce last night.

Looking ahead to Wednesday’s economic calendar, German factory orders data are due at 0800 CEST, while the French payrolls report is scheduled for 0845 CEST.

At 0930 CEST, focus will be on the construction PMI for Italy, Germany, France, and the Eurozone.

Italian production data will be released at 1000 CEST, followed by EU retail sales data at 1100 CEST.

U.S. mortgage data is due from 1300 CEST, with a focus on commodities from 1630 CEST. At 2000 CEST, Fed members are scheduled to speak.

From Piazza Affari, half-year results are expected from nine companies, including Assicurazioni Generali, Interpump, and Piquadro.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter

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