(Alliance News) - European equity markets are bracing for a predominantly bearish open on Monday, as the US and Iran continue to struggle to reach a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing 10-week conflict.
President Donald Trump described Iran's response to his peace proposal as 'totally unacceptable', while Tehran reportedly demanded the cessation of military operations on all fronts, alongside the removal of sanctions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also stated that the conflict is not over, emphasizing that the US and Israel remain committed to limiting Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Against this backdrop, the MIB - after closing unchanged from the previous session at 49,289.54 points on Friday evening - is currently marking a decline of 125.00 points.
The CAC 40 is down 12.00 points, the DAX 40 is retreating by 36.20 points, while the FTSE 100 - the sole gainer - is advancing by 25.00 points.
Among the secondary indices on Friday evening, the Mid-Cap gained 0.7% to 60,1278.16, the Small-Cap retreated 0.8% to 35,161.67, and Italy Growth shed 0.1% to 8,900.36 points.
On Piazza Affari, Stellantis - which finished Friday's session up 1.7% - and Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co announced they are exploring the expansion of their strategic partnership through a series of initiatives following their existing deal.
Intesa Sanpaolo - down 2.0% at EUR5.813 - closed the first quarter with a net profit of EUR2.76 billion, up from EUR2.62 billion as of March 31, 2025. Operating income stood at EUR7.15 billion compared to EUR6.80 billion in the first quarter of last year.
Commerzbank reiterated its critical stance regarding the offer launched by UniCredit - which contracted by 1.3% at the close - stating that the plan presented by the Italian bank 'remains vague and presents considerable execution risks', in the context of its first-quarter results publication.
In the Senate, the majority is also looking to slow down the examination of the Milan Prosecutor's request regarding the investigation into the takeover of MPS, which rose 0.4% to EUR9.332 per share. Magistrates are seeking access to the phone of former Treasury Director General Marcello Sala, who allegedly exchanged chats and emails with nine parliamentarians, including five government members.
Telecom Italia - seeing daily gains of 1.0% - plans to gradually exit Inwit towers - down 0.7% - in a process that could last approximately ten years. The strategy, aimed at reducing infrastructure costs, is based on three pillars: the use of approximately 8,500 existing towers from Inwit's competitors, the construction of 6,000 new sites by other tower companies at a rate of about 500 per year, and a further 6,000 sites developed in a joint venture with Fastweb+Vodafone.
Prysmian and Tenaris topped the gainers, rising 5.9% to EUR152.05 and 2.8% to EUR25.44 respectively; defense stocks weighed on the list with sell-offs in Leonardo and Fincantieri, down 3.2% and 3.7% respectively.
On the Mid-Cap, Webuild - down 1.6% - is refinancing debt and issuing bonds. The operation involved the placement of a new bond maturing in May 2032 for EUR500 million and the simultaneous repurchase of bonds maturing in 2027 for EUR121 million through a Tender Offer, representing approximately half of the outstanding nominal value. Market demand proved particularly strong, with the book peaking above EUR2.5 billion.
Piaggio & C. closed the first quarter with a net profit of EUR5.3 million, down from EUR8.7 million as of March 31, 2025. The stock closed up 3.0%.
Anima Holding - up 1.7% at the end of the day - closed April with net inflows in asset management, excluding Class I insurance mandates, positive at EUR160 million, primarily supported by the institutional segment and the launch of a new fund by Castello SGR. However, year-to-date inflows remain negative at EUR5.68 billion.
On the Small-Cap, the board of directors of Banca Sistema - up 0.1% - deemed 'fair' the mandatory public exchange and purchase offer promoted by Banca CF+ targeting a maximum of 15.5 million ordinary shares listed on Euronext Milan.
Tesmec, contracting by 4.9%, reported its March 31 results, showing a return to profit of EUR1.1 million from a loss of EUR1.4 million recorded in the same period of 2025.
Banca Profilo - down 2.0% at the close - ended the first quarter of 2026 with a consolidated net profit of EUR400,000, down from EUR2.2 million in the same period of 2025, in a context marked by Private Banking restructuring.
Among SMEs, Mondo TV France, which shed 17%, signed a co-production agreement with ZDF Studios for the second season of the animated series 'Grisù', inspired by the classic created by Nino and Toni Pagot.
The board of directors of Simone - down 5.2% - approved the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, on Friday, closing with a net loss of EUR203,000 compared to a profit of EUR898,000 in 2024.
In New York on Friday evening, the Dow closed slightly above par, the Nasdaq rose 1.7%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.8%.
Among Asian markets, the Nikkei is retreating 0.4%, the Shanghai Composite is advancing 0.9%, while the Hang Seng is shedding 0.1%.
On the currency front, the euro is trading at USD1.1755 from USD1.1772 on Friday evening, while the pound is trading at USD1.3588 from USD1.3624 on Friday evening.
Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD105.20 per barrel from USD101.80 on Friday evening, while gold is valued at USD4,663.50 an ounce from USD4,708.84 on Friday evening.
On Monday's economic calendar, the US house price report will be released at 1500 CEST.
On Piazza Affari, quarterly results are expected from several companies, including MPS, Fincantieri, and Mediobanca.
By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter
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