Equities in the red, chip de-risking drags on indexes

(Alliance News) – Piazza Affari closed Friday’s session in the red, as renewed fears around the semiconductor sector once again drove equity investor sentiment.

Also weighing were reports that Apple and Microsoft are preparing price increases on some products, while OpenAI may be considering postponing its stock market listing to 2027.

On the macro front, Istat reported in the morning that in June consumer confidence worsened, slipping to 92.4 from 93.4, while the composite business confidence indicator rose to 95.2 from 94.2.

The FTSE MIB closed Friday down 1.0% at 51,265.35, the Mid-Cap fell 1.5% to 61,683.98, the Small-Cap ended flat at 35,811.94 and Italy Growth rose 0.1% to 9,169.61.

In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 closed down 0.1%, Paris’ CAC 40 lost 0.8% and Frankfurt’s DAX 40 dropped 1.5%.

On Piazza Affari’s large-cap list, declines in Saipem, down 5.2%, and Amplifon, off 4.8%, weighed.

Saipem lost ground even as Berenberg confirmed its buy rating and €5.25 target price, naming the group among its top picks in European oil & gas services thanks to improving margin visibility, solid order book coverage and value-creation potential from the merger with Subsea 7.

Among the session’s worst performers was also STMicroelectronics, down 3.8% to €62.60, hit by negative sentiment toward chipmakers. The blue chip did not benefit from BofA raising its target price to €88.00 from €86.00, while reaffirming a buy rating.

Ferrari rose 3.1% to €322.15 even after Goldman Sachs cut its target price to €381.00 from €383.00, while reiterating a buy rating.

Stellantis lost 2.1%. According to media reports, the group born from the merger of FCA and PSA, along with Nissan, are said to be considering the acquisition of certain assets from Marelli Holdings, the parts maker restructuring its debt through Chapter 11 proceedings in the US.

The automaker’s shares also hit a new 52-week low at €4.910.

Telecom Italia rose 0.9%. The dispute launched against FiberCop over new wholesale network prices could have effects beyond the commercial fight, also affecting the company’s valuation path and a future IPO, ahead of a possible KKR exit, Il Sole 24 Ore wrote.

The group has challenged the new price list published by FiberCop, which includes average increases of 15%-20%, asking the court to reinstate the previous tariff schedule pending Agcom’s assessment.

Banco BPM fell 1.8%. According to media reports, Credit Agricole is said to have raised its stake to 29.9%, nearing the 30% threshold authorized by the ECB. Neither the French group nor Banco BPM commented on the reports.

On the Mid-Cap, Banca Ifis plunged. The stock fell 37%. The bank said its board approved the launch of a competitive process to sell its NPL business, developed through subsidiaries Ifis NPL Servicing and Ifis NPL Investing, as part of the group’s strategic repositioning toward commercial banking.

Despite that, Intesa Sanpaolo confirmed its buy rating on Banca Ifis, with a €27.60 target price, after the profit warning issued by the bank and the announcement of the NPL divestment process.

Tinexta, which ended flat, said Thursday that its board unanimously approved the issuer’s statement on the voluntary full takeover bid promoted by Zinc BidCo Spa, deeming the €15.00 per share consideration financially fair. The transaction covers up to 4.7m ordinary shares of the company.

Pirelli & C., up 0.2%, renewed its board of directors through approval of the financial statements as of Dec. 31, 2028. The new board has 15 members and appointed Marco Tronchetti Provera as chairman, while Andrea Casaluci was named chief executive officer.

MAIRE, down 1.3%, announced that its subsidiary NextChem has completed the acquisition of 100% of the Ballestra group, a deal announced last December aimed at strengthening its positioning in sustainable chemistry technologies and strategic materials. The consideration totals €148.2m, based on an enterprise value of €108.2m and adjusted net cash of €40m.

On the Small-Cap, Beewize rose 9.5%, rebounding after Thursday’s 9.1% drop.

At the bottom of the list was Landi Renzo, which lost 8.6%.

Trevi Finanziaria Industriale rose 1.1% after saying Thursday that the option period concluded for up to 49.96m new ordinary shares from the capital increase, for a maximum total amount of €100m.

During the offering period, launched on June 8, 15.5m option rights were exercised to subscribe for 49.7m new shares, equal to about 99.51% of the offer, for a total value of €99.4m.

Among SMEs, Valtecne surged 33% after announcing that G Square signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in the company through the vehicle ValBlue Holdings Sàrl and will promote a mandatory takeover bid aimed at delisting.

Metriks AI gained 1.8% after saying Thursday that its board resolved to fully exercise the authorization granted by the extraordinary shareholders’ meeting in 2025, approving a free capital increase to serve the “Metriks AI Stock Grant Plan”.

The transaction provides for a free increase in share capital, on a separable basis, for a maximum nominal amount of €20,000, through the issuance of up to 1.0m ordinary shares with no par value.

Rocket Sharing Company closed up 5.2% at €0.4080 after announcing completion of the sale of 51% of Stantup Service to Mexedia, following the fulfillment of the conditions precedent set out in the transaction disclosed on May 21.

In New York, the Dow is slightly higher at 51,937.43, the Nasdaq is down 0.1% at 25,325.04 and the S&P 500 is flat at 7,355.95.

On the currency front, the euro traded at $1.1415 from $1.1387 at Thursday’s European close, while sterling traded at $1.3218 from $1.3213 late yesterday.

Among commodities, Brent traded at $72.41 a barrel from $74.76 a barrel at Thursday’s close, while gold was worth $4,044.79 an ounce from $4,030.45 an ounce on Thursday evening.

Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at IG, said: “Equity dips are being used to buy while oil bounces are being used to sell, and in size. Both WTI and Brent are on the verge of fresh multi-month lows as shipments through Hormuz continue without major disruptions”.

According to the analyst, “this marks a divergence from gold and silver, where some tentative buying has helped stabilize the situation in the short term, although it will take a clear shift in Fed expectations to rescue the two commodities more durably”.

Monday’s macro calendar opens with Japan retail sales, due at 0150 CEST, before shifting to Europe, with Spanish inflation expected at 0900 CEST and Eurozone money supply due at 1000 CEST.

For the UK, mortgage market data will be released at 1030 CEST, while euro area consumer and business confidence will be published half an hour later.

On the bond front, French BTF auctions at three, six and 12 months will be held at 1500 CEST, while T-Note auctions will be held at 1730 CEST for the three- and six-month maturities. Later in the day, Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, is scheduled to speak at 1930 CEST.

Among Piazza Affari companies, Cyberoo results are due on Monday.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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