Stock market: Fall in oil prices not enough; defence and luxury sectors weigh on Milan (-0.1%) -2-
Looking at the Milan Stock Exchange in more detail, ST (+2.1%) is performing strongly, as we anticipated. The Italian-French chip manufacturer continues to benefit from the favourable climate for European tech, and is trading higher despite the €0.09 coupon payment. The company has also launched an all-in-one 3D LiDAR module featuring direct Time-of-Flight technology, hailed as a new benchmark in high-resolution sensor technology for spatial mapping. This positive trend has also been affecting Prysmian (+1%) for some time now, as it indirectly benefits from the cable market.
Stellantis is also up (+1.4%), whilst among financial stocks, Unipol (+1.2%), Mediolanum (+0.9%) and Intesa (+0.9%) stand out, as investors await the next moves regarding the risk situation. Furthermore, BPER (+0.7%) is being buoyed by the ECB’s authorisation of a €750 million share buyback.
The defence sector bore the brunt of the selling. Leonardo (-3.7%), Fincantieri (-3.7%) and Avio (-4.7%) were in fact penalised both by the reduction in the geopolitical premium and by Babcock’s (-5.8%) slump in London following the release of results showing profits below expectations. Furthermore, on the Italian front, some analysts are keeping a close eye on relations between Rome and Washington, in case these might have an impact on contracts expected from the US Navy.
It was also a tough day for the luxury sector. Brunello Cucinelli (-3.3%) and Moncler (-3.1%) were among the worst performers on the market, with Moncler also under pressure due to fears of a slowdown in the second quarter. Following Equita, Intermonte has also cut its forecasts for the period, whilst maintaining its ‘Outperform’ recommendation for Moncler with a target price of €53.8. At sector level, concerns are also weighing on the market regarding the spread of AI and the extent to which it might affect middle-class incomes, thereby reducing the consumer base in the long term.
imt
