(Alliance News) — European markets opened lower as investors digest a slew of quarterly reports from companies on both sides of the Atlantic.
On the tariffs front, Trump has signed the decree making them effective, but they will now come into force on August 7 instead of today.
The EU, as widely reported, will be hit with a 15% tariff on most of its exports starting Friday, although both sides have yet to agree on a key document outlining how the deal will work.
The FTSE Mib is thus down 1.2% at 40,500.74 points.
Among other European markets, Paris's CAC 40 is down 1.6%, Frankfurt's DAX 40 has slipped 1.5%, while London's FTSE 100 is down 0.6%.
Among the smaller indices, last night the Mid-Cap lost 1.0% to 55,549.31, the Small-Cap fell 0.2% to 32,424.70, and Italy Growth is down 0.2% at 8,261.20 points.
On the blue-chip board in Milan, among the few risers, Campari is up 7.7% at EUR6.53 per share, rebounding after four sessions of losses.
FinecoBank is down 2.9%. On Thursday, the bank reported a net profit of EUR317.8 million for the first half, compared to EUR320.3 million as of June 30, 2024. Revenues for the six months stood at EUR644.4 million, down from EUR658.3 million in 2024. Operating income as of June 30 was EUR471.2 million, compared to EUR498.0 million in 2024.
Eni — down 0.5% — announced its decision not to proceed with the cross-border merger by incorporation of Eni España Comercializadora de Gas into Eni, following changes in the business context and model. The company said in a statement that the decision will not have significant effects on Eni's balance sheet or operations.
Telecom Italia is down 0.7%. The Antitrust authority has begun reviewing remedies proposed by TIM and Fibercop to mitigate the anti-competitive effects of the master service agreement, Milano Finanza reported Friday. The main issues are a 30-year exclusivity for TIM, volume-based discounts, and exclusive use of business lines.
On the mid-cap segment, d'Amico is up 3.7% following a 1.2% gain in the previous session.
Rai Way — up 0.2% — reported Thursday a net profit of EUR47.3 million as of June 30, up 0.2% from EUR47.2 million in the same period of 2024. First-half revenues were EUR140.3 million, compared to EUR137.6 million in the first half of 2024, a 2.0% increase.
Salvatore Ferragamo — down 0.2% — reported Thursday a net loss of EUR57.0 million for the first half, compared to a profit of EUR6.0 million in the same period of 2024. Excluding the EUR41 million impairment test effect, the net loss amounts to EUR16.0 million. Revenues were EUR474.0 million, down 9.4% from EUR523.0 million in the same period of 2024, a 7.1% decrease at constant exchange rates.
Ariston Holding is down 3.9% at EUR4.38 per share, following a 0.4% drop in the previous session.
On the Small-Cap, Borgosesia is up 1.7% at EUR0.59, back in the green after three sessions of losses.
Safilo Group — up 8.8% — reported Thursday an adjusted group net profit of EUR33.7 million for the first half, up 39% from EUR24.2 million in the same period of 2024. Net profit stood at EUR41.7 million, more than double the EUR17.6 million recorded previously.
Banca Profilo's board — down 2.7% — announced that as of June 30, it closed the half-year with a net profit of EUR1.3 million, down EUR4.5 million from the first six months of the previous year. Total client assets, including net fiduciary assets, stood at EUR6.0 billion, down 4.6% year-on-year, a decrease of about EUR300 million from EUR6.3 billion as of June 30, 2024.
Direct deposits of approximately EUR1.6 billion remained essentially stable as of June 30, 2025. Net interest margin for the first half of 2025 was EUR10.8 million, up from EUR9.7 million in the first six months of the previous year.
Among SMEs, Eprcomunicazione is up 5.3% after an 8.9% drop in the previous session.
Ulisse Biomed — up 1.2% — announced Thursday it has signed an investment agreement with U.S.-based Global Corporate, which commits to subscribing, in several tranches and only at the company's request, newly issued Ulisse shares for a total maximum amount of EUR10.0 million over 30 months.
The deal also includes the issuance of warrants through 2030 in favor of the investor, exercisable over five years at an exercise price of EUR2.04 per share.
expert.ai is down 9.1%. The company announced Thursday that 14.1 million new ordinary shares have been subscribed for a total value of EUR17.9 million as part of the capital increase approved by the board on July 1, up to a maximum of EUR20.0 million. Specifically, GUM Group, the reference shareholder, subscribed its entire reserved share, worth EUR5.0 million for 3.9 million shares, plus 102 additional shares to complete the transaction.
In New York, during European evening hours, the Dow Jones slipped 0.7%, the Nasdaq closed just below flat, while the S&P 500 lost 0.4%.
Among Asian markets, the Nikkei closed down 0.7%, the Shanghai Composite lost 0.4%, while the Hang Seng is down 0.8%.
On the currency front, the euro trades at USD1.1418 from USD1.1444 at Thursday's close, while the pound is at USD1.3202 from USD1.3231 last night.
Among commodities, Brent trades at USD71.70 from USD72.8 per barrel at the previous close, while gold is at USD3,289.25 from USD3,295.435 per ounce last night.
On Friday's economic calendar, at 11:00 CEST, focus will be on the euro area's main consumer price index.
From 14:30 CEST, attention turns to U.S. labor data, including wage indices, payrolls, unemployment, and average hours. At 16:00 CEST, the U.S. manufacturing analysis will be published.
At 18:00 CEST, focus will shift to new car registrations in Italy.
From Piazza Affari, among others, half-year results are expected from ERG, Cairo Communication, Banca Ifis, and CIR.
By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News Reporter
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