(Alliance News) – On Thursday, European markets closed mixed, with the Mib and FTSE 100 posting the best performances as concerns over potential U.S. intervention in Iran eased.

The news, which helped calm earlier fears, sent oil prices down by 5%.

On the macroeconomic front, Eurozone industrial production rose by 2.5% in November, up from 1.7% in October; in Italy, industrial output also returned to growth, climbing by 1.5% after a 1.0% drop in October.

As a result, the Mib ended up 0.4% at 45,849.77 points, the Mid-Cap gained 0.1% to 61,251.02, the Small-Cap closed 0.2% higher at 38,062.60, and Italy Growth registered a 0.2% increase to 8,869.00 points.

Paris’s CAC 40 slipped by 0.2%, Frankfurt’s DAX 40 rose by 0.4%, and London’s FTSE 100 closed up 0.5%.

Chris Beauchamp, analyst at IG, noted: “January’s rally regained full momentum today, after about 48 hours of choppy trading on Wall Street, due to somewhat disappointing bank earnings.”

“Today, U.S. small caps hit a new all-time high, despite a rebound in tech stocks following TSMC’s data, while the FTSE 100 continues to make progress above 10,000,” the analyst concluded.

On the Milan Stock Exchange, Prysmian led the gains, hitting a 52-week high at EUR93.30 per share and closing up 4.9%. According to JPMorgan and Citigroup, the group—which is soon to release results—is expected to deliver a performance broadly in line with expectations, with the upper end of guidance seen as achievable.

Telecom Italia also performed well: following its agreement with Warner Bros to launch HBO Max in Italy, the stock rose by 2.0%.

UniCredit—up 1.3%—reiterated that M&A activity remains a strategic tool for the group, clarifying that its dedicated internal team is constantly evaluating various options, both within and potentially outside the bank’s geographic footprint.

The bank described recent speculation regarding a stake in MPS—which fell 1.6%—as unfounded and unjustified, as well as rumors of supposed interest in acquiring other holdings.

Inwit—up 1.7%—successfully completed an additional EUR150 million issue on its EUR750 million bond issued in April 2025, with a 3.75% coupon and maturity on April 1, 2030.

Next Geosolutions Europe—with trading suspended—announced that, through its subsidiary Rana Subsea, it has signed a USD150 million agreement with Saipem—up 0.2%—for the provision of “SAT diving” services in the Middle East.

Moncler and Eni posted declines of 1.3% and 1.7%, respectively.

On the Mid-Cap, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, down 0.2%, acquired a 58.84% stake in Edilportale.com—a company active in content, services, and digital platform development for the architecture, design, and construction sectors—for EUR31.2 million.

Webuild, leading the Metro C Consortium together with Vianini Lavori, will build the new T1 section of Rome’s Metro Line C, connecting Clodio/Mazzini to Farnesina. The project’s cost is EUR766 million. The stock slipped 0.1%.

Techoprobe delivered a strong performance, rising 7.5% and hitting a 52-week high at EUR15.06 per share.

BFF Bank saw double-digit losses, down 14% to EUR8.30 per share.

Among small caps, Consob approved Banca CF+’s full voluntary takeover bid for Banca Sistema, which slipped by 0.5%.

The board of Aedes fully exercised its mandate to increase share capital by up to EUR5 million: the stock fell 0.3%.

Esprinet was admitted to the Italian Revenue Agency’s collaborative compliance regime. This advanced model of interaction between businesses and tax authorities is based on transparency, legal certainty, and proactive risk management. The stock declined by 1.9%.

EuroGroup Laminations confirmed Reuters’ earlier report, announcing that EMS and FountainVest have received authorization under Italy’s Golden Power rules. Approval is subject to specific behavioral requirements deemed suitable to protect strategic national interests, in line with existing regulations. The stock closed flat at EUR3.492 per share.

Mondo TV, after Rai Kids’ pre-purchase of the animated series GrisĂą, topped the basket with a 7.9% gain.

Among SMEs, DBA Group, with no trades recorded, continues its investment in technological innovation after commissioning EssilorLuxottica to supply next-generation AI Glasses for its business operations.

Fope, up 2.0%, announced that consolidated net revenues as of December 31, 2025, reached EUR93.6 million, up 27% compared to December 31, 2024.

eVISO reported a sharp increase in supply points linked to the agency channel, based on data from the Integrated Information System, the public body managing information flows for the electricity and gas markets. The stock responded positively, up 6.3%.

gAIn360 announced that the Lombardy Region has awarded a total grant of EUR361,181.30. Of this amount, EUR300,000 may be requested by the company within 90 days of the grant decree’s publication.

ETS Engineering And Technical Services, with no trades recorded, has been awarded the executive design contract for Lot 2 of Naples’ new Metro Line, part of a broader contract valued at around EUR691 million.

Planetel—down 1.0%—signed a framework agreement with the Department of Innovation Engineering at the University of Salento in Lecce for technological innovation initiatives.

In New York, the Dow Jones is up 0.8%, the Nasdaq 1.0%, and the S&P 500 is gaining 0.7%.

In currency markets, the euro is trading at USD1.610 from USD1.1656 at Wednesday’s close in European equity markets, while the pound is trading at USD1.3391 from USD1.3449 last night.

Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD63.60 per barrel from USD65.83 per barrel at Wednesday’s European close, while gold is valued at USD4,612.87 per ounce from USD4,619.19 per ounce last night.

On Friday’s economic calendar, German consumer prices are due at 0800 CET, followed by Italian figures at 1000 CET.

At 1100 CET, in the UK, a speech by BoE’s Bailey is scheduled. Focus will be on U.S. industrial production at 1515 CET, while Baker Hughes rig count data is due at 1900 CET.

On the Milan Stock Exchange, results from Saccheria F.lli Franceschetti are expected.

By Michele Cirulli, Alliance News Reporter

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