Futures rise as focus shifts to Trump in China

(Alliance News) - Major European indices are expected to open slightly higher on Wednesday, as attention turns to Trump's meeting in China, where he is accompanied by executives from the largest U.S. corporations.

The FTSE Mib is called up 373.7 points or 0.8% after closing Tuesday down 1.4% at 48,990.98.

London's FTSE 100 is expected to open up 54.9 points or 0.5%, the Paris CAC 40 is projected to rise 54.1 points or 0.7%, and Frankfurt's DAX 40 is indicated up 164.0 points or 0.7%.

Yesterday evening in Milan, the Mid-Cap lost 0.8% to 59,270.83, the Small-Cap fell 1.0% to 34,362.63, and Italy Growth closed fractionally in the red at 8,913.01 points.

Among the companies listed on Borsa Italiana, the shareholders' meeting of Terna - which closed down 0.8% - appointed the new board of directors for the 2026-2028 three-year period on Tuesday, confirming Stefano Cuzzilla as chairman.

Italgas - down 1.1% - renewed its memorandum of understanding with Tokyo Gas Network aimed at strengthening collaboration in strategic areas of gas distribution and promoting the development of joint projects.

UniCredit, which closed 0.9% lower, launched a cash tender offer for its subordinated bonds denominated 'Euro 1,250,000,000 Fixed Rate Resettable Tier 2 Subordinated Callable Notes due 15 January 2032', identified by ISIN XS2101558307.

Concurrently, UniCredit announced its intention to issue new Euro-denominated fixed-rate callable Tier 2 subordinated bonds, an operation that will only be carried out subject to favorable market conditions.

Telecom Italia - which shed 0.5% - announced that Moody's has upgraded the group's rating to 'Ba1' from 'Ba2', with a Stable outlook. The rating agency's decision, according to the press release, reflects the path taken by TIM in recent years.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, up 1.5% at EUR9.467, reported a first-quarter profit of EUR520.8 million, up from EUR413.1 million in the same period of 2025.

Revenue amounted to EUR1.96 billion from EUR1.01 billion in Q1 2025. Excluding the EUR925 million contribution from Mediobanca, revenue stood at EUR1.03 billion, up 2.7% year-on-year, driven by positive dynamics in net interest income, net commissions, and other financial management income, the company noted.

Tenaris, up 2.1%, signed a memorandum of understanding with Denmark's Green Therma to accelerate the development of next-generation geothermal solutions in Europe.

Eni announced it has placed two new fixed-rate U.S. dollar bond issues on the American market for a total value of USD3 billion. The stock closed up 0.9%.

DiaSorin led the blue-chip index with a 2.4% increase to EUR68.28 per share, while Prysmian and STM were at the bottom of the basket with losses of 5.2% and 5.3%, respectively.

On the Mid-Cap, De' Longhi - up 6.7% - posted a first-quarter profit of EUR71.9 million, up from EUR62.8 million in the same period of 2025. Revenue reached EUR777.7 million, up 3.0% from EUR755.2 million in Q1 2025.

The board of SOL - down 1.0% - approved consolidated sales figures for the first quarter ended March 31, during which consolidated turnover reached EUR465.2 million, a 7.2% increase compared to EUR433.9 million recorded last year.

Safilo Group - down 1.9% - signed a Share and Asset Purchase Agreement with Bollé Brands for the acquisition of the SPY+ and Serengeti brands. The transaction follows the exclusivity agreement announced on April 21 and is part of the group's strategy to acquire selective brands in attractive, high-growth segments.

On the Small-Cap, doValue - up 0.2% - was awarded new mandates in Italy for a total value of EUR430 million. As part of the transaction, doValue supported a leading international institutional investor in the acquisition of a loan portfolio from a major Italian bank, contributing to the structuring of three securitization operations.

Banca Sistema, which shed 1.1%, approved its consolidated financial statements as of March 31, 2026, closing with a net profit of EUR3.8 million, down 67% from EUR11.6 million in the same period of 2025. The result does not include the Group KK pro-rata profit of EUR1.8 million, adjusted to maintain the accounting equity at the estimated disposal value.

For comparative purposes, the Q1 2025 profit, excluding the contribution of the KK group, would have been EUR10.3 million.

Enervit announced on Tuesday that it achieved first-quarter revenue of EUR22.2 million, up 2.4% from EUR21.7 million in the same period of 2025. The stock rose 0.2%.

OPS eCom, with daily sales down 3.1%, received a favorable opinion from the expert appointed in the context of the negotiated crisis settlement procedure, resulting in a request for a further 180-day extension filed with the competent Chamber of Commerce.

Triboo - up 3.5% - announced that Direct Performance, a group agency specializing in lead generation, advertising, and SEO, acquired the proprietary database business unit from ISPD Italia, strengthening its digital ecosystem through the integration of new editorial assets and digital communities.

Generalfinance, up 1.4%, announced that the Venice Court of Appeal, in the second-instance judgment regarding the clawback action brought by the Bankruptcy of Industries Sportswear Company, ordered the company to pay approximately EUR2.2 million plus expenses and interest estimated at around EUR1.2 million. The company stated it is evaluating actions to protect its interests.

On Italy Growth, SolidWorld Group announced, through its SolidManufacturing business unit, the Italian market availability of the new microArch S150 series developed by Boston Micro Fabrication, a platform dedicated to micro-precision 3D printing. The stock closed up 1.2%.

Valtecne - flat at EUR8.40 - reported first-quarter consolidated revenue of EUR10.3 million, up 9.6% from EUR9.4 million in the same period of 2025.

Mare Engineering Group - up 2.1% - approved the launch of a share buyback program for a period of 18 months from the date of shareholder approval, for a maximum amount of 3.9 million shares.

Espe, up 2.7%, was awarded two new contracts for the construction of photovoltaic and agrivoltaic plants with a total capacity of approximately 15.8 MWp and a total value of approximately EUR9.3 million.

Fope, which saw no trades, approved the group's strategic guidelines and targets to 2029, the year of its centenary. By 2029, the company expects revenue between EUR145 and EUR150 million and EBITDA between EUR33 and EUR35 million.

In Asia, the Nikkei is up 0.8% at 63,267.09, the Shanghai Composite is gaining 0.5% at 4,233.34, and the Hang Seng is slightly above par at 26,360.93.

In New York at Tuesday's close, the Dow Jones rose 0.1% to 49,760.56, the Nasdaq lost 0.7% to 26,088.20, and the S&P 500 fell 0.2% to 7,400.96.

On the currency front, the Euro is trading at USD1.1734 from USD1.1745 on Tuesday evening, while the Pound is trading at USD1.3544 from USD1.3520 yesterday.

Among commodities, Brent is trading at USD106.30 per barrel from USD108.31 per barrel on Tuesday evening, while gold is worth USD4,699.52 per ounce from USD4,652.45 per ounce at yesterday's close.

On Wednesday's economic calendar, French inflation data is expected at 0845 CEST. At 1110 CEST, two auctions of Italian BTPs with seven and 30-year maturities will be held.

The OPEC monthly report is due at 1200 CEST, while from 1300 CEST the focus shifts to U.S. mortgages, followed by U.S. producer price index data at 1430 CEST.

Quarterly results from 25 companies are expected in Milan, including Buzzi, MFE, Snam, and Hera, among others.

By Giuseppe Fabio Ciccomascolo, Alliance News senior reporter

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